One More Chance
by bay y jose
Summary: Au. OoC. 5 years of love, 1 problem. Can they both give one more chance? ShizNat. Based on the Php movie, One More Chance. Revised.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Mai Hime/Mai Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed

_**One More Chance**_

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"Hello? Who is this? Fujino?"

After the name was said, a certain girl quickly spun her head towards the receiver of the call and tried to listen to their conversation. After a quick talk, the phone call ended.

"What did she say Haruka-chan?"

"Her car broke down, Yukino. She's asking me to pick her up."

The last statement made the curious girl surprised.

* * *

"Why do you have to break tonight, of all nights?" 

She asked her old black Honda Civic, not really expecting to be answered.

"Cold"

She said as she hugged herself tight. She was inside her car, waiting to be saved by the friend she called a moment ago.

Noticing some headlights from behind, she chanted a quick 'Oh, thank you Lord' and went out to face Haru…

"Natsuki?"

She whispered while watching the other girl getting out of her vehicle.

"What are you doing here?"

She asked even though she already knew the answer.

"I'm here to pull you."

Natsuki answered while tying a thick nylon rope behind her Ford F 150.

"Why?"

The question made her stop from what she was doing,

"What why?"

She returned the question, not bothering to look at the other girl and continuing on what she was doing.

"Why are you helping me?"

This time, the question made her stop and stand. She raised an eyebrow and faced her questionnaire. Clearly, she's getting annoyed.

"Why? Because I'm your girlfriend! Do you still have to ask? Plus, why did you called Haruka instead of me?!"

Natsuki was completely clueless of what was running in Shizuru's mind. She does not remember having a fight with her earlier. In fact, they were together during lunch. Except that Shizuru left her while eating in the restaurant without a word. But she was not worried. She was certain that it was just because of stress from work and they will be fine after some time alone. It happens all the time, for five glorious years.

Shizuru was silent after the last question was thrown to her. Not daring to face Natsuki, who was staring and observing her intently. Natsuki figured that her girlfriend was troubled so instead of expressing her disappointment and anger, she decided to calm down and have a heart to heart talk with Shizuru.

"Shizuru"

The said girl looked up to her with sorrowful eyes. It never fails to hurt Natsuki everytime she sees those.

"Shizuru… What's the problem?"

Once the question was stated, Shizuru quickly averted her gaze away from the younger girl.

"Nothing Natsuki, I guess… I guess it's just me."

Natsuki's blood boiled again. She's not sure if Shizuru's playing hard-to-get or she just want to keep it from her. She tried to calm herself. She knows that being rough won't do the trick, so she decided to say the set of words she's been using for five years that will effectively soften Shizuru.

"If you don't tell me the problem, Shizuru, how will **I** fix it?"

She said it again. Oh how she hated those very words of Natsuki. Every time there's trouble, she says that. Every time she has a problem she says that. Every time they have a problem, she says that. Every time, every time, every time!

"Why do you always have to be the one to fix things?!"

She said it with an annoyed, sarcastic, sad and confused tone. Tears started flowing, her cheeks are red. She does not know anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I would like to send my deepest apologies to my country men who are indirectly offended by my story. I plan to give my note that I based this story on the movie, _One More Chance,_ on this 2nd chapter. The 1st chapter was just a prologue. For me, I will begin the story here. Again, I apologize to Nekeneg and give him/her my gratitude as well.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which is my own idea)

* * *

_Flashback, earlier that day (8:26am)_

"Fujino! Fujino! FUJINO!"

Everyone in the office was quiet, they all well know how complicated it is when their boss is furious, especially this early.

"She's not yet here sir. Is there a problem?"

Natsuki rose from her cubicle and faced their boss calmly.

"Where is she?! It's almost 8:30! She's late!"

Right after the word 'late' was said, the glass door opened, revealing a panting Shizuru. All heads were turned to her. Seeing everyone, including her boss and Natsuki's attention was on her, she closed her eyes, breathed in and out and composed herself.

She's ready to face the beast.

"If you don't find my instructions in this office, acceptable, you're free to go!"

"I'm so sorry sir."

"Sorry won't do, Fujino! What happened to you?! You weren't like this before! Please tell me you finished the design for the meeting this lunch!"

"Tell me!!"

"Y… Yes sir." _'Almost'_

"Good. Now, I want you to remodel all of these."

"Bu… But si… But sir, it took me three nights and three days to finish those. I have to do it again?!"

"I'm not satisfied with these. Your due date doesn't change. It will still be on the next day. To be honest I was happy you managed to finish it before then but what kind of design was that!! It was lame! Don't think I'm rude, I'm just doing work. You're dismissed. Finish that. Be a professional architect."

"Yes sir."

Natsuki watched as Shizuru went out from the boss' office. She rose from her chair to talk and comfort her. She heard everything; she knew that Shizuru had not yet finished her model for this lunch.

"Shizuru"

No answer.

"Hey!"

Shizuru kept on walking, not minding Natsuki who was catching up to her.

"Wait!"

Natsuki managed to grab her arm, which made her stop and turn but failed to make her answer to her call.

"Shizuru… Are you alright?"

She saw concern on her Natsuki's eyes. Her anger had subsided at the sight but still, frustration won't go.

Natsuki immediately read Shizuru. She knew what the older girl was thinking. She knew what to do.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it."

The tan haired girl's eyes widen after her mind just registered what the younger girl said but before she could complain, Natsuki was already retreating.

* * *

"Shizuru-san, Shizuru-san"

She opened her eyes slowly. Her mind was foggy and she's having a headache.

"Uh."

"Shizuru-san, your meeting is about to start. Are you alright? Looks like you fell asleep."

'_I fell… asleep. Oh no.'_

"Ara, what time is it?"

She was nervous. What happened? Why did she fell to slumber?

'_Oh'_

She remembered. After Natsuki ran after her, she went to the cafeteria to get some tea then returned to finish her work. She was too busy thinking on how to save her work which her boss asked her to remake. Her 'almost' finished design for the meeting this lunch was completely forgotten.

"Fujino! Come here! Clients have arrived!"

Her boss' voice snapped her out of her reverie. It's now or never. She grabbed the roll of paper lying at the right side of her table with the label 'Omc design; due on 11/29; 12pm' and went into the meeting room.

'_I guess this is goodbye.'_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which was my own idea)

* * *

"This is superb! Well done Fujino-san!"

Her eyes are wide. It was good that she managed to keep her jaw close and not hanging.

"The designs are very simple yet very practical and affordable! Mr. Kino, your young architect is amazing! Its like she took engineering as well."

"I know, she may be tardy sometimes but I know well her skills when it comes to this kind of designing. Maybe she has a natural talent as an engineer."

Shizuru was speechless, shocked and confused but she tried to hide it in front of her boss and their clients. She knew that she didn't finish her work and most importantly, she was sure that this was not her design, not her idea, not her style.

'_Natsuki'_

As soon as the name popped on her mind, a figure was passing outside the glass door, waving at her with a pretty smile.

'_Natsuki'_

The meeting ended successfully. The clients signed the deal, Mr. Kino, the boss, was happy, everyone from the meeting room was satisfied, except one.

"Good work today Fujino, I knew I could count on you. Just don't be lazy, and then maybe I could give you a promotion."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you too."

They parted ways. She was still thinking about the 'miracle' that occurred during the meeting. She knew that she should be happy because she just made a deal, but she's not. This was not the first time this had happened. Sometimes she regrets it when she tells Natsuki about her work but what could she do? Natsuki always asks her about it. She couldn't tell her caring girlfriend to leave her alone. She'll be hurt. Plus, she knew herself that what Natsuki did was for her own good.

'_Natsuki cares too much.'_

The thought made her headache worst. Was it good that she cares too much? Or was it bad because she's spoiling Shizuru.

'_I'm not spoiled.'_

She convinced herself.

'_Natsuki, she's… she's…'_

What was the right word? It was on the tip of her tongue, she just couldn't remember. Her headache wasn't helping at all as well.

'_Should I thank her? No'_

No, she won't thank her. It would hurt her pride and it would appear that she's relying on Natsuki all the time. Her officemates knew about it. They all knew why the boss calls her the 'archi-engineer',

Because Natsuki is an engineer.

"Shizuru"

She looked up to see the source of the voice, and there she saw the person who she loves the most and hate 'a little ' sometimes - smiling like an angel.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which was my own idea)

* * *

"How was the meeting? I heard that they made a deal. That's wonderful, they liked our design!"

The dark haired girl said while removing the skin of a fried chicken with her hands.

"More like YOUR design."

The younger girl just chuckled at the statement, completely clueless that the other was serious about the topic.

"Oh come on Shizuru, this isn't the first time we did this. Besides I just re-drew your original design and remove some unnecessary figures and exaggerating decorations."

Shizuru felt insulted with that and it pained her, but she needed to calm down. It's not nice to start a fight with someone who just did you a favor. Her eyes were staring at the mashed potatoes and gravy in front of her. Her chicken was not there.

'_Oh yes, we are having chicken today, no wonder its not there.'_

"Here"

Natsuki placed the skinless chicken at her plate. She stared at the removed skin on the younger girl's hand. It's been a while since she had eaten skin. When was the last time?

'_5 years ago'_

"Thank you for the food and thank you for giving Shizuru the deal. Amen"

She just watched her lover pray. Her mood was bad because the start of the day was bad, her headache was still there, and she wanted to eat the deep fried chicken skin, but she couldn't. Everything was against her and it just made her madder.

_Snap!_

"Natsuki"

Her voice was firm and a little cold. She wanted to make it colder but something in her chest told her not to. She obliged to that.

"Hmm?"

The said girl was chewing down 'her' chicken skin.

"Natsuki, I want my chicken skin."

Was she trying to start a fight? She knew that her girlfriend wouldn't agree to that but everything she hates about Natsuki just came flooding in to her. She doesn't know what she was feeling. Confused, she found another reason to be mad. She's confused.

The girl with the chicken skin just stared at her with a quirked eyebrow. After gulping the food in her mouth she answered to Shizuru's request.

"No."

The answer she received was like a charcoal to her, making the fire inside of her burn more. Shizuru roughly rose from her chair.

"WHY?!"

She was out of it. Her temper has reached its limit. On the other hand, Natsuki was just there, staring at her and looking a little surprised. The dark haired girl knew the best way to deal with her lover when she's like this. Be calm.

She held Shizuru's hand, pulling her to sit down.

"Shizuru, chicken skin is cholesterol; it's bad for you since you don't work out too much; not like me."

The answer was sweet, that's for sure. She felt weak all of a sudden, following the pull from the other girl, she sat down.

Their meal was quiet. The younger one was enjoying the silence, unaware that the other was still troubled.

Shizuru was very, very confused. Why did everything she hated about Natsuki came to her at that moment? Was it trying to say something?

'_I need someone to talk to, then I'm going home. I want to sleep early.'_

That's the only thought that came to her so she rose from her seat, gracefully and walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which is my own idea)

-Most readers who knows about the movie tells me that the characters should be _vise versa _(Shizuru's character should be Natsuki; Natsuki's character should be Shizuru). As I have told them, it took me a while to decide whose who, and I finalized it as what you have seen, because I greatly believe that this is the right characterization _(you will see what I mean by halfway of the story)_, and I did noted on my summary _OoC (Out of Character)_, but I am doing my best that they do not get out too much. _I just hope that you get to like my idea._

* * *

"Now, now Shizuru Fujino, being weary and gluey won't help you with your problem."

"I think she meant gloomy, Shizuru-san."

"What was that Yukino?"

The girl with glasses shook her head.

"Nothing Haruka-chan"

After walking out on their late lunch meal, Shizuru found herself with two of her and Natsuki's friends, Haruka and Yukino, at a small coffee shop. She needed someone to talk to, especially when everything was this confusing; and all she could think of was her friends.

They were a group, formed during their college days. Together with Mai and her husband Tate, Nao, Mikoto, Chie, Midori, Haruka and Yukino, they spend all occasions with one another. Never did they miss any birthday or anniversary. They were like family. Every time one of them has a problem, they gather at Mai's café and together, they comfort the troubled friend.

Today was no exemption, only that it was just Haruka and Yukino who were available and near Shizuru's office. Besides, it was just 3:45pm, still a working hour, so calling all of her friends was a no go.

"So, Natsuki and you got into a fight again?"

Shizuru was about to answer Haruka, but she hesitated, no; the truth was that she does not know what to answer. In shame of her actions, she just stared at the floor. Natsuki didn't do anything; as a matter of fact she should even be grateful to her, but still… Something was wrong.

"Was she deciding for you again?"

Yukino asked. The question caught her off-guard. She took a deep breathe, closed her eyes and nodded.

"Ha! I knew it! You only call us in this hour if, one, you had a fight or, two, Natsuki's being a dictated!"

Haruka shouted while pointing a finger at Shizuru's face.

"Dictator"

Yukino whispered and Shizuru just nodded, still staring down.

"But you two get in to a fight when she decides for you and you refuse… It's all the same!"

Haruka continued, her face becoming softer.

"Go on… Tell us what you're feeling. Yukino and I will listen."

Shizuru glanced up to the blonde and made an apologetic smile.

"Thank you"

"We haven't done or said anything yet! Thank us late."

Haruka said while looking away and crossing her arms in front of her.

"Later, she meant later."

Shizuru just smiled at Yukino. Even though Haruka may sound rude sometimes, Shizuru was still thankful for her and Yukino.

"So?"

* * *

Shizuru told her friends everything that happened that earlier that day. The morning speech given to her by her boss, the 'remodel everything' assignment, the unfinished design that was miraculously done and even made a deal and the flood of confusing thoughts about Natsuki. Both were not that surprised. Shizuru ended her little story with a sigh.

"Are you… are you… are you getting tired?"

Haruka hesitated but continued anyway, receiving a tug from Yukino. Shizuru just closed her eyes.

She didn't answer but somehow it was pertaining to something. It didn't startle Haruka and Yukino, who just glanced at each other. The two were there since Shizuru and Natsuki began. They witnessed everything that happened; they knew what was happening and they will know what will happen. The both of them were like soap opera audiences; never missing an episode on their favorite show.

"What do you…"

Yukino's question was interrupted by a message alert tone from Shizuru's cell phone. Shizuru mouthed 'Sorry' and read the text message. Various emotions played on the tan haired girl's eyes while reading the text. As much as possible, Shizuru conceals her emotions, all of them in the group knew about that but when it comes to Natsuki- no walls could hide her feelings. Yukino and Haruka just glanced at each other, obviously questioning each other on Shizuru's reaction.

_Message:_

_Shizuru, I called Mai today, I told her about your new contract. We're having a party with the gang. I already called your mom, I told her that you're going home late tonight and that you did well on your work today. Be there at exactly 8:30pm. Don't be late. I can't go there with you, got meeting, but I'll follow. Take your car. See you, Love you, mwah! ___

_Sender: Natsuki_

Shizuru just sighed.

'_Yes, Ma'm'_

_End of flashback_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which was my own idea)

* * *

"Why do you always have to be the one to fix things?!"

Shizuru shouted. Everything was blurred to her sight due to her tears. Her heart was racing and it just made her throbbing head worst. It was freezing, but her cheeks are warm. Every emotion that she felt during that day just came to her. The question she wanted to ask Natsuki, but could not, just spilled out of her mouth. At some point, she regretted it but faded in an instant. It was too good to stop. She never anticipated that she'd blow like this.

And now, there, the love of her life, showing mixed emotions in front of her. Obviously perplexed and confused. It was rare to see her like this, so finding this as a good opportunity; she let her mind speak itself.

"Everyday, you tell me what to do! Everyday, I obey you! Whenever I have a problem, you solve it, when I refuse, you get mad! Sometimes I think about doing a problem of my own and solve it by myself! Do you know the feeling that you're like wasting your time being proud of something you can't even say you did on your own?! You did that to me, Natsuki, you did that to me for FIVE damn years!! Can't I have my own life?!"

Shizuru stopped to breathe. Her chest was hovering up and down. Her tears are flowing down and her body was shaking. Natsuki just stared at her dumb folded. She wanted to say anything to comfort Shizuru but knowing it was her own fault; she decided to downcast her eyes and keep her mouth shut.

"Do you know that feeling…? The feeling that there's no Shizuru without… without…Natsuki?"

Shizuru sobbed and continued. Natsuki's eyes quickly left the floor, and stared at Shizuru- her mouth ajar. Now, she felt like crying as well.

Shizuru's crying never stopped. She bent her body forward and leaned her arms to her knees which made her hair cover her tear-stained face.

"I lost… I lost 'myself' ever since… ever since… I got you… I…too…yearn for my own life…"

Shizuru's voice cracked at her last statement. She couldn't stop her tears, so she let them flood out.

"Its like, I'm surrendering my 'everything' to you…"

Natsuki just couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought that everything was going steady and smooth between them. True, she and Shizuru have an issue about her being 'too controlling' but never did she thought that it would affect them like this. Natsuki just considered it as a small thing and would be forgotten eventually.

"But… I… But I… did those things… to… to… help you…for… for your sake… for our dream…"

She tried to reason out, which was true.

They were silent for a moment; only the breeze of the cool wind could be heard. Shizuru's ragged breathing seemed to return back to normal but she still wasn't moving from her previous position. Natsuki, on the other side, never stopped looking at Shizuru.

"You know, I wonder what it is… to have my own life"

Shizuru's voice broke the silence and she finally managed to stand straight but never looked at the younger girl.

Natsuki was a little shocked with Shizuru's appearance- her face was all red and so was her eyes, her lips are pale and some of her hair are sticking to her moist forehead and cheeks. Messy but beautiful.

Natsuki's eyes were softer than ever. She still managed to hold back her tears from falling. She was happy with Shizuru, so she decided that she would listen more and be less controlling. Natsuki knew that this wasn't the first time she said this to herself, but with what she just saw earlier from Shizuru made her swear to herself.

Seeing hope that **they** would fix everything with **their** power- she felt a gleeful wave conquer her chest.

"But now, I want to stop wondering…"

The picture of a bright tomorrow was immediately covered with darkness.

"I'm sorry, Natsuki…"


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This story is based on Star Cinema's _One More Chance. _(Not entirely based; I did a few changes which was my own idea)

* * *

"Here, drink this. It may cool you down."

Yukino said while handing Shizuru a bottle of water. They were at a garage that fixes cars. After Natsuki pulled Shizuru's car, she left without saying a word. She was like an empty shell-no life, no soul. Worried as they were, the gang called their friends to ask where they might be. Mai called Natsuki while Yukino called Shizuru. Natsuki did not answer her phone, but Shizuru did, and now here they were. Shizuru told everything that happened to Yukino, Haruka, and Chie who went after her. Mai, Nao, Midori and Mikoto decided to look for Natsuki after Chie informed them of the current situation.

Everyone was shocked. Sure, they knew that the two were having problems but never did they imagine that they would actually break up, even Haruka and Yukino were startled. Since college, every time Natsuki and Shizuru have a fight, misunderstanding or argument, they frequently say that they're breaking up but by the end of the day they make up. The two follows an unspoken rule; they will not go to bed with a misunderstanding, big or small- They should or rather, would sleep without any hard feelings.

But tonight, was a different night.

"Shizuru, do you really plan to end everything just like that?"

Haruka was frowning when she asked the question. Shizuru's mind was wandering; her eyes are all red with dark circles underneath it most likely due to crying and she's all worn out.

"Shizuru?"

Haruka called out.

Shizuru shook her head; this caught everyone's attention.

"Of course not… I love her…"

She said, not bothering to look up to show the small smile on her pretty face; the type of smile that you could often see at high school girls who just saw their crushes. For Shizuru Fujino's state as of now, the smile was beautiful, but at the same time, heartbreaking.

"I just need some time."

She continued. This gave everyone a sigh of relief. They believed that the two's relationship was so deep, or maybe too deep- and it would be such a waste if they throw everything just like it was nothing. All of them, in their circle of friends, root for Shizuru and Natsuki. Why? - Because they deserve each other.

* * *

"ARGH! Damn it!!"

"Nao, calm down!"

"Stupid Kuga! Why won't she answer her goddamn phone?!"

"Are you stupid?! Shizuru and she just broke up! Of course she would want some time alone!"

"Shut it, Midori!"

"Stop it!"

Both red heads turned to face Mai. All four of them, including Mikoto, were at Mai's café. They have been trying to contact Natsuki for the last three hours but the blue haired girl would not answer, which made them nervous to the bones.

Meanwhile, Natsuki was somewhere in the city. After she left Shizuru, she just drove randomly and ended up in a river side where she parked her pick up. It was cold outside so she decided to stay inside.

Her tears would not stop, she had been crying since then. Drops of tears kept falling. She does not know how to continue. Life for her had change since Shizuru came to her. Whenever she felt this frustrated all she could think of calling was her girl, but now, her source of strength was the very reason for her weakening.

'_Shizuru'_

She embraced the stirring wheel in front of her and buried her face to it. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She thought she could not cry like this anymore because she used up all of her tears, but when the name crossed her mind once again, her theory was proven wrong- tears started to flow… again. Her grip at the wheel tightened and she started to softly bang her head on it. Every contact of her forehead made the horn blow, but she did not mind- or notice. The pain in her was too much, too much that she cared less at her surroundings.

Mai and the others failed to contact her for two days.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I will _not_ include my _note_ that I based the story on the movie _One More Chance_ on this chapter for the reason that I own this one. I changed it because of the _fact_ that it is not possible for Shizuru to _get tired _of Natsuki (which happened originally at the movie (the girl got tired of her boyfriend)). Most of the readers, and I do as well, believe it. So every time _I do not include my note_ _at a chapter,_ it is understood that it is solely mine and the events _did not occur _at the movie, but I will still follow the storyline.

* * *

Shizuru was aware of what was happening to Natsuki. She tried to contact her but Natsuki would not respond. There was something she needed to tell her and now, she just could not wait. They have to clear things between them, so at the moment, she found herself at Natsuki's doorstep.

Her heart was racing. She does not know how Natsuki would react if she sees her now. Truth to be told, she was more like nervous and not scared. She had seen how Natsuki loses her temper and it scared the hell out of her at first, but when Natsuki explained to her, with a blush, about her possessiveness- she felt very safe all of a sudden. She felt like she could face all the terrorists, including Bin Laden and the Abu Sayaff, and make them kneel in front of her if, and only if…

Natsuki's by her side.

That's how safe she felt when Natsuki's with her.

Footsteps from the apartment snapped her out of reverie. So, she gathered all of her confidence and slowly knocked on the wooden door.

'_Natsuki would not hurt me.'_

She thought and slowly, the door opened.

* * *

"The love birds' boss is expecting too much from Shizuru."

Midori said bluntly while chewing down a Quarter Pounder ©. The gang was complete, except Natsuki and Shizuru, and they were talking about the two.

"We all know that Shizuru is one smart-ass, a very responsible girl and not a lazy bun but we couldn't have forgotten that being an architect wasn't her choice. It was her father's request, right?"

Midori continued, crumpling the paper where her burger used to be. All heads were focused on her.

"And, Kino, the big mouthed boss is expecting too much from our dear friend since the beginning! Does he not know the word 'amateur'? That's why Shizuru is not on shape for a long time!"

She added, gulping the soft drink in the plastic cup right afterwards, banging the cup on the table.

"Too much stress"

Mai slipped in while closing her eyes, displaying pity and concern whilst everyone nodded.

"And there's Natsuki's 'overprotective' nature as well! We all know how Natsuki is when it comes to Shizuru. Natsuki worries about everything that has 'Shizuru' in it."

While saying the last sentence, Midori raised her two hands with her two fingers forming a 'V' or victory sign and made a quotation sign with her fingers to emphasize 'Shizuru'. Then she continued.

"Natsuki thinks about 'Shizuru's pride', 'Shizuru's rep', 'Shizuru's work', 'Shizuru as our friend', 'Shizuru as her lover', 'Shizuru as a student', 'Shizuru as an architect,' and more! She thinks too much! I tell you, everything that has 'Shizuru Fujino' in it."

Midori was shaking her head and waving her arms like crazy while telling this.

"Yeah we noticed, but just kept silent about it since Natsuki becomes another person when it comes to Shizuru. Sweet and caring but too protective and too private at the same time."

Chie said as she sipped from her drink.

"She loves Shizuru too much"

This time, it was Mikoto who commented.

"Shizuru is aware of this, I'm sure."

It was Midori again.

"But didn't complain about it because she knows that Natsuki is doing this for her sake"

Mai added.

"And because she loves Natsuki too much too."

Nao finished for them.

All of them breathed out a sigh at the conclusion of the problem. Now that they figured out how the incident started, at this point all they could was watch their two friends sort things out on their own.

"It's up to them."

Everyone agreed to Yukino.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I own this chapter (events that occurred here are **not** from the _movie_ except for the _hanging picture frame_)

* * *

They stared at each other, with teary eyes, for a long time. Both of them were thinking twice to break the silence.

Natsuki was wearing boxer shorts for ladies and a white tank top. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes seemed so tired. Her face was pale and so were her lips. She was staring at Shizuru- her mouth agape.

On the other side, Shizuru was wearing a black V-neck long sleeve with a thin red scarf around her neck, and a brown skirt that falls just above her knee and a pair of black boots, a little short to cover her entire legs, plus a small pouch. Her outfit was just enough for the cold weather in the afternoon.

The two were not on their best conditions, but a talk would not hurt, hopefully.

Shizuru snapped out of her dream land just in time to notice Natsuki's state. It hurt her. She felt guilty but didn't show it. To fight back her tears, she decided to speak up.

"Hey"

Natsuki was taken off guard by Shizuru's sudden greeting. She felt silly about it, so a small, tired smile escaped her lips.

"Oh, hey"

Seeing Natsuki smile made Shizuru's day. Natsuki does not smile often for everyone to see, so seeing her force to smile like that gave warmth to Shizuru's chest.

'_I wouldn't get used to it.'_

She thought and so, she returned Natsuki's smile with her own rare one.

"Come in"

They both went in and went straight to the living room. Natsuki's living room was simple but extravagant. Her walls were painted with beige while the posts or borders and the ceiling were painted chocolate brown. It would give a warm effect to anyone who would step inside- and even warmer because of the fire place that matches the dark color of the edges of the room. And above it were picture frames that included Natsuki herself, and none other than Shizuru.

Shizuru seated herself at the navy blue sofa bed that faces the fire place while Natsuki disappeared at the kitchen. Shizuru removed her boots then faced the palm of her hands near the heat to warm her fingers. She glanced and rose up to check if Natsuki changed their pictures, which was not, and stared at a particular frame that has been hanging on that wall for a long time and was a little larger than the other frames that has been sitting above the fire chamber.

Inside of the frame was a drawing of a house- simple two storey house with a garden and a parking space. And below it was a label that says 'Shizuru and Natsuki's'.

It was their dream home which they both drew on their graduating year at college. They planned to build it, hopefully, this year. Natsuki would be the engineer and Shizuru would be the architect. And after the house was built, they planned to face the altar the give their vows to each other. But things were too complicated lately, so the dream house was put aside for now and that includes the wedding.

Shizuru had been staring so long that she didn't notice two things. One, her tears and two, Natsuki, who was about to cry, had been watching her.

A real heartbreaking scene

"Shizuru"

It was just a mere whisper but Shizuru turned around anyway. Natsuki's eyes became softer the moment she saw tears at Shizuru's reddened cheeks.

Shizuru's eyes widen when she heard Natsuki's voice. She went to face Natsuki, who was holding a tray with Chinas on it and was standing behind the sofa. She figured that it must be tea.

"You… You sur…prised me"

Shizuru giggled whist wiping her tears with her bare hands.

Natsuki looked up and inhaled deeply to call back her taunting tears before she walked towards the older girl.

"Cold? Here I brought some tea."

Natsuki stated then set the tray at the coffee table beside the sofa bed.

"Ara, thank you."

Shizuru said as she sat down beside Natsuki who just did.

The two of them sipped tea and sat in silence for a while. They're used to this anyway; enjoying each others company. No words were needed, only the presence of the other was all that matters.

"Oh! I forgot, I have cookies here for you."

Shizuru started digging at her pouch until she found a small bag.

"Cookies? That small?"

Natsuki snorted. Shizuru unfolded her handkerchief and poured the little cookies on it.

"I have a plate for that, you know."

The tan haired girl just chuckled, that made the other giggle as well.

"What's that? Cookies for babies?"

The younger girl teased while taking one.

"Yup, I stole it from the baby at the park."

Shizuru joked, already munching one.

"Bully!"

Natsuki started poking Shizuru at her side that made her back off a little.

"Ara, how dare you! I committed sin just for you! Meanie!"

Shizuru glared at Natsuki and softly slaps the poking hands to fend it off.

Their little tea party ended with a tickle fight at the sofa bed. Both of them were laughing so hard that they forgot about Shizuru's intention for visiting. Shizuru was now lying at the carpet after she rolled out of the sofa. Natsuki was sitting just above her, aggressively attacking her sides.

"Na… hahaha…suki… hahaha… top… s…to…hahaha…op!"

"No! You are being punished! Baby bully!!"

Shizuru was laughing so hard. She couldn't fight Natsuki off of her. She tried to push Natsuki but the younger girl grabbed both of her hands with one hand and pinned it above her head. Natsuki's other hand never stopped tickling.

"Ahahaha…I….hahah was….kid…ahahaha...ding…!"

"Aha! You tricked me! Prepare to be punished once again!"

Shizuru's eyes were starting to show tears due to too much laughing, and it just triggered Natsuki more.

"Ahahaha…Al…hahaha…right…For…gi…ve…mm…meh…hahahaha!"

"I didn't hear you!"

"Ahahaha…Ff…orr…haha…ggive…me...hahaha!"

"What? 'Give me'? You want more? I'll give you more!"

Shizuru's eyes opened a little at what she heard, but closed it instantly because Natsuki tickled her again.

"Ahahaha…un….no…hahah…no!"

They remained like that for awhile. After some time, Natsuki stopped and straightened her back but did not move above Shizuru. Shizuru was exhausted, she had not laugh like that for a while and it wore her out. She extended both her arms side ward and breathed rapidly.

"Meah…meahh…niee…meanie…"

Natsuki started laughing from above. Shizuru just pouted from below.

"So, you're sorry?"

Natsuki asked while wiping the tears that formed due to laughing.

Shizuru just glared at her.

"Oh? You're not?"

Seeing the playful glint in Natsuki's eyes, Shizuru frowned and closed her eyes as if she was saying she surrenders.

"Alright…Alright…I'm sorry."

She finally admitted, but deep inside, she was planning for a counter attack. Natsuki damaged her too much and that was unforgivable. Pushing her was out of the question, Natsuki knew how to deflect that attack. So she decided that when everything calmed down, she would take her revenge, and maybe even more.

Noticing some hair that fell at her face and the younger girl being awfully quiet, Shizuru opened her eyes, only to see Natsuki's face right above hers.


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I own this chapter

* * *

"Where are those two anyway?"

"I called Shizuru-san's home, no one is answering so I tried her mobile phone."

Yukino answered as she pushed back her tiny eyeglasses.

"What did she tell you, Yukino?"

"Shizuru-san is going to visit Natsuki."

Eyes went wide at the statement.

"WHAT?!"

Nao jumped out of her seat causing everyone to avert their gazes from Yukino, who was just there sitting calmly, as if she had expected to draw that kind of reaction.

"Will Shizuru-san be okay?"

Chie managed to sit still, but her leaning forward to the table showed her sign of concern.

"That totally surprised me. I was thinking that Shizuru-san would take some time before mending things with Natsuki."

Mai retorted as she shut her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

"But don't worry guys…"

She continued, this time beaming a reassuring smile.

"Natsuki may be kinda scary when she and Shizuru have an argument, but the situation now is different."

Mai finished as she leaned her back to her chair.

"But don't you think it's more complicated. Err, they broke up didn't they? Don't you think Natsuki would be more… you know… hard to handle?"

"I don't think so Chie…"

This answer caused every one to lift their eyebrows.

Not wanting to wait any longer for the expected question, Mai spoke her mind and continued.

"Natsuki may scare us, I mean scare anyone, almost making them pee on their pants, but didn't you guys notice?"

Lifted brows went furrowed.

Mai sighed on how clueless her friends were. It would not be unbelievable that Mai noticed things around that one would not commonly regard. Well, she did graduate with flying colors. But aside from her, she silently adored one of her friends that she found sharper than her.

Shizuru. One of the reasons that Mai was not worried for Shizuru's unaccompanied visit to Natsuki was because she knew that the older girl would not initiate such an action that would harm herself, and also for the greater fact that Natsuki could not hurt Shizuru.

"Natsuki scares us but not Shizuru."

Mai let out a small laugh at the thought.

"And it's the same on every aspect. Remember the guys who tried to hit on Shizuru when we're all together back on college?"

All heads nodded, except Haruka who just furrowed her brows further; giving it as a sign that she had forgotten of the said incident.

Nao laughed after realizing Haruka's ignorance of the topic; she got a bash in the head in return.

"Natsuki beat every one of them didn't she? And honestly, I was quite perplexed by that event! I kinda backed away a little from Natsuki that time! You guys tell me, weren't you scared?"

They all shared a giggle at the past. Reminiscing college sure was nice.

"I was scared like shit that time! I made a mental note to myself that I could make fun of Kuga but Shizuru…Na-ah!"

Midori shook head and made and made a cross sign with her arms while telling her side. It made all of them laughed loud.

"Yeah, that time I thought Natsuki was Wonder Woman!"

All of them laughed harder when Nao did Wonder Woman's striking pose; chin is up while her hands are on her waist- the wind blowing her hair.

"Just imagine Natsuki like that! Shit!"

Everyone now was laughing uncontrollably. Midori started banging their table like a drunkard and Haruka was just like her normal self- clutching her stomach and laughing with her mouth wide open.

Midori could hardly speak because of her laughter.

"Oh! So you thought she was Wonder Woman?! But I thought of her as Superman! She was just missing a red brief over her pants!"

Their laughter continued at the thought of Natsuki wearing Superman's costume.

After laughing their lungs out, things that were at hand seemed to have finally crossed their mind.

"The point is… He-hey! quit it now!"

"Alright! Alright! Phew, that was hilarious! Continue Mai."

Midori swiped off some of her tears, while the others tried to catch some air.

Giggles and chuckles have subsided, now, painted on their faces was seriousness.

"The point is Shizuru is immune to Natsuki's…Umm… How do we say it? Violent side… Err, soo… there's nothing to worry about. And if it's Natsuki, God knows she won't hurt her girlfriend."

"Ex"

Chie reminded.

"Ah, ye-yeah, ex"

The busty red head sweatdropped for forgetting

"I hope all goes well between them."

Mikoto said, portraying a bittersweet smile. A few of them agreed to her, the others just kept their head down- and that 'others' were Yukino, Chie, Haruka, and Nao.

Nao spoke up.

"But still…"

All downcast gazes immediately focused on the red head, who looked, rather shy on what she was about to say.

"Shizuru does need her 'own' life…"

Neither of them disagreed to that.

* * *

"Nat…suki…"

She whispered as the younger girl kept lowering her head- so low that it would connect their foreheads by any second now. She was not nervous- for this person was the only one she ever loved and would ever love. Never did she think of spending her life with another. It was only her.

She was mezmerized by the pale lips of the person above her. She wanted to claim and taste it. She was about to lounge, though it was tough because she was lying flat on the floor, when the object she desired suddenly moved and then she felt something wet dripped on her forehead.

She moved her gaze upward to see soft jade eyes with tears flooding out. Pain and loneliness could be clearly seen. For this tough young lady, this kind of weakness was portrayed only for her, Shizuru's eyes only. The same with Natsuki, it hurts Shizuru to see her lover like this. On normal times, she would panic if she sees those kinds of emotions playing on her other half- but now, it was different; it was not normal.

Shizuru's train of thoughts came to a halt after feeling something wet dripped from above down to her cheeks- after that, she heard an almost unaudible whisper from the girl above her. A whisper for her ears only.

"Come back"


	11. Chapter 11

_

* * *

_

Disclaimer:

I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This chapter is half mine and half not mine. (Was that clear?)

* * *

"Can I give you a ride?"

"No, thank you. I brought my car."

"Oh, okay. Ta-take care then."

"Bye."

Before Natsuki could answer, the brunette already turned her back and went to the elevator.

"Bye…"

The elevator doors already closed when she bid her farewell. She stared at the metal doors for a while, trying to picture Shizuru's back, which she witnessed just a moment ago. Never did she miss the other like this.

Satisfied and convinced that the older woman was gone; she pushed her wooden door closed and leaned at it for support, after rewinding the events that happened that night. She smiled to herself after learning that Shizuru did not leave her for good.

'_She said she just needs some time and space… I could give her that'_

The two of them just talked that night, they both wanted to clear things and Shizuru took the initiative to take the first move. And it resulted to that- that Shizuru just needed some time and space- she also suggested to Natsuki to think over things, so an incident like this would not occur again. This break up was for the two of them, though for Natsuki, it was not really that necessary.

She let out a small smile.

* * *

It has been two days since she and Shizuru cleared things. She was ready to face Shizuru at the office the day after their conversation- but Shizuru didn't come to work for two straight days. She was getting worried because the older girl would not call her, she attempted to contact her but she was reminded by her self that they are not together at the moment time, so she closed her cell phone, sighed and continued on her job.

* * *

_The next day_

"Thank you for everything, sir."

"Are you sure about this? You can still change your mind."

"Yes sir, I am certain."

"Very well then, it was a pleasure working with you."

Natsuki was laying her head on her desk while watching the farewells between her boss and Shizuru from the glass office room. Yes, the brunette finally decided to show up at the office- only to retrieve her things.

Shizuru had filed for resignation.

That morning, Natsuki noticed Shizuru's car at the parking space beside hers. No doubt, she was happy. She had not seen the other girl for days that seemed centuries for her. She quickly jumped out of her vehicle and ran for the elevator. Arriving at her intended floor, she sprinted to Shizuru's cubicle which was, again, beside hers- but found nothing in there.

"She's at the boss' room"

Said one of her co-worker which seemingly, was observing her.

"Uh, thanks"

And that's how she ended up at her desk. She was waiting for Shizuru.

Finally, after a quick shake of hands. Shizuru headed for the door, and walked towards her cubicle. Natsuki quickly got up- and she was angry.

"Shizuru"

Natsuki whispered, walking around her cubicle to get into Shizuru's. The older girl was continuously gathering all of her stuff on her table and placing them inside a box.

"Shizuru, what are you doing?"

Her voice came out a little louder than she intended to.

She did not wait further for a reply.

"Where are you going?"

Her brows were furrowed, obviously showing her disapproval of the situation. Well, she did have the right to be angry. First and fore most, she was uninformed of the decision. Not just because they broke means they have to keep secrets, they were friends after all! Isn't that the purpose of Shizuru's visit the other day, to settle themselves as friends for the mean time? But why now? How come?

Too many questions were running through her head, and it was so early in the morning. Shizuru's silence and continuous gathering did not help too. It was as if she was being ignored.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Natsuki. It was sudden."

Shizuru explained calmly but this had no effect on the other girl.

"Sudden? SUDDEN?! You could have at least called or mailed me! Was that hard?!"

Shizuru was a little shocked on Natsuki's outburst. Shizuru knew that once Natsuki found out, it would be trouble but since they settled things down, as friends- this reaction was a little unexpected; just a little.

"Do you really want to stay away from me that badly?!"

Natsuki's banging voice ringed her out of her thoughts. Given sometime to absorb the blue haired girl's words, Shizuru's mind worked on its own and gave out an appropriate reply to the harsh words.

"Not everything is about you, Natsuki."

Shizuru unintendedly said those dagger-like words. She didn't mean it. Honestly, she wished she could take all of those words back but it was too late.

Natsuki had felt the pain.

This was the first time she had done this. Never did she wish to hurt Natsuki. She always protected her and Natsuki to her, but now, what have she done?

Ashamed of what she had done, Shizuru lowered her eyes, gripped her box tighter, turned around and walked out.

She was pacing. That's something rare for her to do. She wanted to hide her eyes from everyone who notice her tears. Oh, how she wished she could. She finally reached the elevator. Angels must be at her side that the metal doors opened exactly as she arrived. Eyes were on her, but she didn't care. Even the operator was observing her- leaving the doors open. After the aftershock that beautiful tan haired girl brought to the passengers, everything went back to normal. As the man pressed the button for the doors, another girl went to catch up. Maybe the angels weren't really by Shizuru's side- since Natsuki managed to jump in before the doors even touched.

"Shizuru, wha…"

Natsuki tried to talk. All of the occupants of the elevator were watching them. Shizuru did nothing. She continued to hold her position, her back facing Natsuki while the other tried to speak her mind.

"I thought nothing would change… Shizuru, what about us? Our dreams? And even the we… wedd...ing?"

Natsuki stuttered. She tried to keep her tone normal despite of the taunt of her tears. She didn't want to look so weak in front of strangers but with Shizuru, she couldn't help it. She just completely broke down, lost all of her pride and became like a lost child.

Shizuru could not take all of these anymore too. She's hurting as much but she had to remain strong. With all of the words that she's hearing right now, she could break down any minute. She lifted the box and buried her face there- with a mere sound of soft sobs.

"Five years…"

Natsuki's broken voice reached Shizuru's ears.

"Do you plan to throw five years just like that?"

The elevator was dead quiet.

"Five years and you can't give me one more chance to fix this?"

Natsuki was now on tears. She used her hand to wipe off the flowing tears streaming down her cheeks. She was not really expecting Shizuru to answer but unexpectedly, Shizuru did.

"I'm sorry."

Shizuru began.

"But I already gave five years of my life. It's about time I get mine."

Natsuki was speechless. How could she have forgotten the very reason of their break up? And now, they're not together but her 'controlling attitude' was still taking place.

'_Stupid, I'm so stupid…'_

Those words which Shizuru just said were also the same as what she had told Natsuki when she had visited- only that time, Shizuru's tone was softer and full of assurance.

Because of the silence, thoughts start to build at Shizuru's head.

'_She just said she would fix it again! Can't she really think about my feelings?'_

Natsuki was now feeling really guilty- she just couldn't believe what she had done. So she dropped her gaze, tightened her fist and let her eyes cry.

"But Shizuru, you're asking for too much…"

She whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This chapter is half mine and half not mine

* * *

Natsuki went home very late that day. Not only she looked miserable, she also looked like she aged ten years in just a day. Her eyes were swollen and empty. Her hair was a mess and so were her clothes. And you would see how much effort she exerts with every step she makes. All the passersby were noticing her, some even tried to ask her if she needed help, and all they received was silence and continuous sorrowful steps.

She glanced around her dark room, only to see images of Shizuru. She remembered everything they shared there- their laughs, cuddles and even fights. Every face portraits of Shizuru was getting in her head. She might be hallucinating but nevertheless, it made her smile.

She sat in front of the fireplace and thought the fire was interesting so she stared at it. She remained like that for so long. At some point, tears were dropping; some times she makes a smile. If strangers would see her, certainly they would say that she's crazy- and if her friends would be the one to witness her right now, of course they would also say she's crazy-but crazy because of love.

A spark of fire flew out and she followed it with her jaded eyes. After it had lost its flame, her eyes found itself on a certain hanging frame. She slowly rose from the floor and reached her arm up to get the frame out of the hook. Satisfied that she got what she wanted, she dropped on her knees to use the fire for light. Multiple thoughts and memories played in her head.

In the end all she could do was hug the drawing and cry her eyes out.

* * *

After her encounter at the office that morning, Shizuru was as miserable as Natsuki. She went straight to her room and never went out of it. She locked her self there and just thought nothing else but Natsuki.

She doesn't know what to do. She was debating with her mind if she should call the younger one- but thought that the wound she had done would still be raw, so she decided to give it sometime to heal then she would settle things- again.

'_But settle for what?'_

She doesn't know. She loves Natsuki, that's an undoubtful fact. But she can't ignore the excitement of being an adult on her own. Since she and Natsuki got together during college, she had never experienced being on her own after graduating- and now's the opportunity for that, but at what cost? Natsuki?

She tightly shut her eyes, clenched her jaw and gripped her pillow. Natsuki being the cost was too much, no; it was very, very much. It was like asking for her life! But wasn't she asking for her own life? She opened her eyes and relaxed her tensed body. She was getting really confused at the thought. To sum it up, she was like asking for her life in exchange for her life. She scrunched her brows and decided to let that one out.

She got up from bed and took a box- but not just a box, but a beautiful box. She glanced around her room to pin point some of Natsuki's gifts to her, but she ended up with the memories of Natsuki giving her the gifts. She flopped herself at the bed and stared at a cute pair of stuffed, kissing puppy dogs sitting at her side table. She remembered that Natsuki named it after the two of them, even though she disagreed because it was too cheesy- but the other just laughed at her and say that it was fine since it's their little secret- stop!

'_No, I should stop thinking about her.'_

She convinced herself, but sadly failing because every once in a while, the image of the latter kept on showing up on her head. Never did she think that this would be so hard. Her mind drifted somewhere for so long. She was just there, staring at nothing or maybe she found the foot of her cabinet interesting.

Hearing a siren from outside got her back to reality. She shook her head and smiled to herself at the thought of how crazy she had gotten. Glancing out to her window, she noticed how late it was. She rubbed her swollen eyes and took the box once again- planning to finish her unfinished work.

In no time she successfully gathered all of the gifts. She stared at her room and noticed how boring it has gotten without Natsuki's trace on it. She frowned at the thought that this was meant to happen in her life if she drives Natsuki out of it. She shoved the box under her bed. Now, she would not think of the blue haired girl for a while meaning that she wouldn't cry for a while as well.

She crawled onto the bed and decided to rest.

* * *

_Knock knock_

The knock on her door woke her up. Reaching for her cell phone, she tried to register the time.

It seemed that she only slept for 45, no, 46 minutes.

She rubbed the bridge of her tall nose to brush off the traces of her sleep. She blinked a couple of times to recall if she did hear a knock.

Deciding to check anyway, she got on her feet and approached the door.

"Natsuki"

She smiled as she saw a beautiful young girl in sweater and jeans smiling at her. She stepped forward because of a sudden urge to embrace her- but then, Natsuki disappeared.

Her eyes widen as realization hit her.

'_Why can't I forget?!'_

She was getting so damn frustrated. She shut her eyes tightly and before she knew it, a lone tear had fallen. She buried her face on her hands and leant on the doorframe for support. She stayed like that for at least five minutes.

She was so, very confused.

Admitting defeat to whomever or maybe herself, she lay on her bed and ended up crying the whole night…too.


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I own this chapter

-And for those who have seen the movie and to those who have not, or rather, for all of the readers, I decided to shorten this story. I think writing is not my forte, hehe… I'm not sure if I will write again or what. This might be my last but I will definitely finish this one. You have my word ;)

* * *

It was almost a week since the controversial encounter at the office. It would be inappropriate to say that things were back to normal- because it was not.

Natsuki was still not herself. At the first week, she refused to go out of her bed. Mai and Mikoto were even forced to call Midori and Nao to help them pursue Natsuki to move on because things would turn out fine if she just do something about it, but the blue haired girl would not listen and mumble things like 'It's over', 'I drove her away' and 'She hates me'. It was like Natsuki absorbed all the negativity that has existed in the world. By afternoon, Nao and Midori gave up and said that they still have work to do while Mai had Tate to take care of her café at that moment.

They tried all the things they could think of just to separate Natsuki from her bed. They pulled her, since naturally, it would be the very first plan you could think of. Then they tried to bait her with mayo (her favorite condiment), which was again, unsuccessful. They tried to blackmail her by saying that her bike, which she had since high school, was towed because Nao used it and parked it somewhere- but they were ignored. So, they tired again by putting up an act telling that Midori brought her new excavation jeep (who knows what that 'thing' was for) to show it to everyone but due to her excitement, she did not notice Natsuki's precious bike and ran onto it, and because Midori thought she heard some noises under her vehicle, she took a quick peek downwards, eventually slamming her monstrous jeep on Natsuki's F150- then again, it was a failure. Even the silliest tactic that Mikoto suggested was put into action. To lift the bed and roll Natsuki down on the floor, but the stubborn girl jumped on the bed when Mai was starting to push the bed up, resulting Mai to be sandwiched between the beds while Natsuki started to lay down… again. All the while, Mikoto panicked saying that Mai was suffocating.

Up to this night, Natsuki was still on her room, sulking. Mai and Mikoto drops by every time they could to check up on their friend.

The busty red head was busy cooking dinner for them at Natsuki's unused kitchen when she heard something…

'_Verses?'_

Mai thought and thought again. Then it hit her.

"Mikoto, what are you doing?"

Mai walked into the bedroom while holding a spatula and wearing an apron when she saw Mikoto standing at the foot of the bed holding a book and reading it to Natsuki, who was curled like a kitten and hugging a pillow.

"Shh Mai, I'm trying to enlighten Natsuki."

The golden eyed girl told her friend. Mai was in complete shock, she sweats dropped, her jaw fell on the floor and she turned white in disbelief.

"Oh"

Was all she could say.

"The bible helps enlighten people, right? And now, Natsuki's all gloomy and dark. So I read the bible for her, yup!"

Mai smiled on Mikoto's effort to help Natsuki. It's rare to find someone that never gives up on cheering a disappointed friend- and who would ever thought that a feline-like girl like Mikoto was one of those uncommon kind.

Mai walked closer to the girl and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Mikoto, but I think Natsuki had enough for today."

Golden eyes stared at her questioningly at first- then she received a smile and a nod.

Mai returned her smile then changed her gaze towards the other friend who did not move an inch from her previous position.

'_Get a hold of yourself, Natsuki'_

* * *

_Ring Ring_

The ringing of the phone woke the occupant of the dark room. Slowly, she tried to seek the 'annoying' machine by tapping her side table and recognizing it with her sense of touch.

After several trials, she successfully grabbed the desired object but before answering it completely, she glanced at her digital clock first as to check the time.

'_9:46pm…late already?'_

She thought for a while.

"Hello, good evening. Who is this?"

Distinguishable kyoto-ben spoke as she answered her phone- her eyes still close because of the sleepiness but it never affected her tone of voice, as if she never slept at all.

"Shizuru"

A more heavily accented tone spoke at the other end of the line- making Shizuru widen her eyes and completely sit on her bed and before answering, she lit up her lamp first.

"Mother"

She tried to keep her normal tone to hide her surprise from the sudden call.

Shizuru and her mother were not that close but they were never too far to be ignorant of each others lives. Her mother lives at their original home, which was in Kyoto, while Shizuru moved in to Tokyo after she finished middle school, meaning that she took her high school and college at the said city.

Shizuru's mother was never the average type. She was often strict when it comes to Shizuru's life- but not too strict to drive her daughter away. To say it simpler, she just don't want her daughter to get hurt. Since Shizuru's father passed away, her mother had come in his place. She wants Shizuru's life to be good- that's all she could wish and nothing more.

"You didn't call me for so long. Did something happen, dear?"

Shizuru was silent for a while. She was confused if she should tell her mother of what had happen to her for the past few weeks. Biting her lips, she started a verbal war inside her head.

Her mother was very fond of Natsuki. Both of them were very cozy with each other, which made Shizuru very happy. Every time they had a conversation, her mother never misses to ask how Natsuki was; they were like real mother and daughter. That's why telling her mother of what had occurred between her and her lover was so difficult. She does not want her mother to think of Natsuki as a bad person- because she so was not.

'_Maybe I am the bad person.'_

"Dear?"

Her mother seemed to have sensed Shizuru's distress.

"Mother…"

Shizuru whispered.

"Shizuru?"

Her mother called once again- seemingly to have heard her daughter's almost inaudible call- which she knew, very well, was rare for her daughter. She almost lost her composure upon hearing it.

It took some time before Shizuru answered, but her mother patiently waited for her.

After waiting for at least three minutes, Shizuru finally made a sound. It was unclear to the older woman of what she was hearing at the moment. Her brows furrowed as she held the phone tightly to her ear- trying to distinguish the sound that she was hearing.

It was like Shizuru was catching her breathe or out of air. This made the old woman worry.

She was about to talk and ask if her daughter was okay when her eyes widen as she realized what was going on at the other end of the line.

Shizuru was crying.


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-I own this chapter

-By the way, I did an illustration of Shizuru in a kimono. Please check it out and tell me what you think. Thank you.

http: / / bianca216. deviantart. com /shizuru-II-82228490 (just remove the spaces)

* * *

_Monday_

"Mai!"

"Oh, hey Chie! What's up? Coffee?"

"Ah, no thank you. I just dropped by to remind you of our little get-together on Friday night. Four days from now. Same time as last time, 7 pm."

The business suited Chie asked as she stepped closer to the counter where Mai was standing.

"Of course. I already planned to close the café early just for that."

Mai said gleefully while leaning her body forward on the table.

"Great. I bet everyone knows about it?"

Chie asked inquiringly.

"Uhm, yeah… I suppose…"

She answered the dark haired friend- a little unsure.

"You're not sure? What about the two?"

"Two?"

Mai raised a brow, obviously clueless.

"Yeah, Kuga and Fujino. Do they know?"

A light bulb appeared near Mai's red head.

"Ah! Yeah, I think they know… No, I know they will know."

She said standing straight and crossing her arms to her chest to emphasize her thinking.

"I see…"

Chie wanted to add more but hesitated for a while. After having a small debate, she decided to ask anyway.

"Will it be alright for them? To see each other again after two months, I mean… Especially at a party? A happy party?"

The dark haired woman scrunched her brows and leaned her arms on the counter to show how worried she was at the moment. The exchange of words at the office was the last meeting of Shizuru and Natsuki for the last two months.

* * *

It took Natsuki a week and a half before she left her apartment and move on, while Shizuru got back on her feet after only a couple of days. According to Haruka and Yukino, it seemed that Shizuru's mother had something to do with her fast recovery but it wasn't the best. All their friends tilted their heads side wards as if asking why it wasn't the best. Yukino only answered.

"She's emotionless."

After resigning from her former job, Shizuru took part time jobs at teaching tea brewing and tea ceremony. It was not the best job but at least she was satisfied- she was satisfied she got to do what she loves.

Natsuki, on the other hand, continued on her job at the office. She almost got fired because of her absence for so long but because of some excuses and with the help of some co-workers, she kept her job. The dark haired girl seemed fine with work- only that she's always alone and she drinks her self to sleep every now and then. Asked why she would not try to talk to Shizuru, she only answers,

"She hates me now…"

* * *

Mai sighed.

"They'll be fine as long as we're there. We already talked about this, Chie."

The gang once decided to have a party a month ago. Shizuru and Natsuki both came but unfortunately they missed each other. It was really, really unfortunate since it took them, Mai and company, hell to make the two come over- and it was all for nothing.

They were celebrating Midori's birthday at that time. The tan haired girl was first to come at that event. Everyone was present except Natsuki. Shizuru kept silent about the other girl all the time, but it was obvious for her close friends that she was a little nervous. Nobody talked about the incident on the two former lovers. They were all on party mode, and Shizuru was very thankful for that. But deep inside, everyone was worried on how they would break the ice between the two when Natsuki arrives.

Mai and Chie tried to call Natsuki to inform her that everyone had arrived, including Shizuru. The blue haired girl answered their first attempt. She told them that she was just about to leave the office. That answer somehow put the two at ease since they learned that Natsuki was indeed, coming. They thought everything was at place and everything would be alright so they did not worry about that anymore and celebrated the party to the max. When 10:04 struck, the two, Mai and Chie called Natsuki again because they observed that Shizuru was looking a little out of energy and might go home soon, so they went to inform Natsuki to hurry up but instead of the girl, an operator answered them- telling that the other's phone was either dead or out of reach. Learning that there's no other way to contact Natsuki, they decided to just wait.

Natsuki was very late that time. When she finally arrived, the first thing she did after stepping inside the café was to look for her Shizuru- but she did not see her. Her heart beat fast as she continued to look around, but none of what she wanted to see came into her sight. Until Chie approached her and clarified that indeed, Shizuru had already left.

It seemed that Shizuru had a headache that night. She just went to drop by and send her regards to Midori- and maybe see and greet Natsuki too, since she expected the other girl to be there but, the night was getting older and no Natsuki came into view. When the clock struck 10:30, Shizuru called it a night for her. Honestly, she just allowed herself until 9:00 pm but decided to extend it a little more for a reason she was unsure of herself.

Natsuki was very, very disappointed. She cursed her boss and traffic under her breath when she learned that Shizuru was gone. She silently asked Mai why she didn't try to stop the other girl but Mai only said that Shizuru was having a headache, and that she seemed tired too.

That night was very, very hard for the two. It was really heartbreaking. They expected a lot of things to happen but nothing happened at all. Both of them were wondering if they could fix things between them with the help of their friends but nothing got fixed. Their anxiousness just grew and it made them more stressed than ever.

'_Maybe she doesn't want to see me…'_

It was an unbearable thought that build itself inside Shizuru and Natsuki's mind.

Since then, the two completely shut themselves from the social world and focused all their strengths and thoughts to work and nothing more.

And now, after two months of nothing but work, the gang finally decided to break the ice- again and have a little reunion with everyone. This would be the first time Shizuru and Natsuki would meet again.

* * *

"I hope everything works out on Friday."

Chie said thoughtfully.

"It will. I hope… too…"

Mai answered back.

* * *

"What?! Cat got your tiny tongue, Kuga?!"

"Hmmm?"

"Don't 'hmm', 'hmm' me! Well?"

"I don't know Nao, I'm sorry…"

"Scardy cat…"

"What did you say?!"

"I said you're a scardy cat! Getting deaf as well are we!"

"You're getting on my nerves! Why don't you vanish from sight?!"

"Chicken!"

Natsuki and Nao was about to lounge forward and attack one another when a body stepped between them.

"STOP!"

Natsuki continued on pressing forward while Nao obliged to Midori's orders.

"Will you two stop it?!"

Midori shouted at the two.

"Can't you see we're at a public place? Would you two please stop it?"

They were at an ice cream shop near Natsuki's office. Nao and Midori decided to give Natsuki a visit to inform her of their little party but it seemed that Natsuki wasn't interested.

Two months ago, Natsuki completely stopped going out for parties or any events- except Midori's birthday. She became a real loner. All she did was eat, sleep and work. She even stopped doing strenuous work outs and sports, which they knew was very important and necessary for the girl.

Her friends tried to encourage Natsuki but it was useless. She just nods, say thanks then walks out. It was like she had her own world for her own good. Unbelievable but true.

Then after realizing it was useless talking to the dark haired girl they decided to give another friend a visit- Shizuru. As much as they hate to say that Natsuki was hard, they'll have to say that Shizuru was harder. The tan haired girl would just not listen as well! Let us say she listens once in a while but nothing could convince her to make a move to bring Natsuki back to reality. They weren't forcing her to have recall with Natsuki- they're just asking her to talk with the other girl, even for a while- but she would just give a bittersweet smile and say that Natsuki hates her. In addition to that, it was hard to find and contact Shizuru. Sometimes she's out of the city- saying that she had been assigned to teach somewhere out of town. Even the exact date of her arrival was a mystery. So sometimes they'd just run onto her somewhere and sometimes at Mai's café and that's only the time they'd learn that the girl was back.

"Listen Natsuki, it's our party. It's our official gang anniversary! Don't tell me that just because Shizuru's going to be there, you're not going! What about my party? You came there, didn't you? Then why are you hesitating now? Someday you have to face her too, you know."

Midori explained. A slight twitch at the girl's eye caught Midori and Nao's attention. It seemed that what they previously said have an effect with the gloomy girl.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be fun if you're not coming- if we're not complete."

Natsuki just kept her gaze down towards the foot of the table.

Deafening silence went through for a long time. Neither of the three, who were well known to be boisterous and loud when together, made a sound. Even so, the atmosphere was not awkward- thankfully.

Midori took her melted ice cream on a cup and started munching it down, Nao laid her back at her seat and started to look around as if looking for something that might catch her interest while Natsuki took her time gazing at the floor all the while.

People at little ice cream shop come and go but the three of them remained where they were since they arrived. Nao and Midori seemed serious on giving Natsuki emotional support all the time that they were there. They may look like uncaring idiots but deep inside, they give great importance to all of their friends, though it's not that obvious.

Nao was about to say something to dismiss the little silent party when she heard the low, gruff voice of her dark haired friend.

"Alright."

The two red head raised their brows.

"I'll be there."


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This chapter is half mine and half not mine.

* * *

_Tuesday_

"Party?"

"…"

"Friday at 7pm?"

"…"

"Alright"

"…"

She moved her phone away from her ear a little because of a shriek coming from the other line.

"Yes, thank you. Bye"

Shizuru slide her phone down, gripped the stirring wheel tighter and sighed. She closed her eyes to relax her thumping heart.

'_Natsuki…"_

She suddenly opened her eyes and thought of not thinking about it now. She needed to focus.

Shizuru was inside her car. She was about to meet a family friend her mother told her about when she received a call from Mai informing her of their upcoming celebration. When she first heard of it she suddenly became nervous. She was confused on why she felt like that. Deciding to let that thought go, she revived her car and sped off.

* * *

"Last one down!"

Mai shouted.

She and Mikoto were in the café, as usual, when they called and informed Shizuru of their get-together. Mai was a little worried that Shizuru might refuse the invitation but she was wrong. And here she was, celebrating that she finally made everyone agree.

"She's coming?"

Mikoto asked- sitting on a stool in front of the counter where Mai was in.

"Yup!"

Mai said as she beamed the other girl a toothy smile and as she brought the cordless phone down.

"That's good! Everyone's coming! We're all gonna be reunited!"

* * *

"Welcome, Fujino-san."

An old woman in a kimono greeted Shizuru on the doorway of a normal western style house.

"Good afternoon, ma'm"

Shizuru bowed.

"Thank you for coming, please come in."

* * *

"Is it okay? I really appreciate it, Shizuru-san."

"It's no problem, ma'm. I did not finish architecture for nothing so it's really no bother at all."

Shizuru said proudly as she gracefully put the cup of steaming tea down on the table after sipping in it.

"Thank you."

The old lady bowed in front of Shizuru to fully show her thankfulness to the younger lady.

"Please, I really don't mind at all. I have a very light schedule at my work so checking the actual sight of your choice of house is my pleasure. I haven't done any structural work for a while so I have to thank you as well for asking me."

Shizuru bowed in return.

"You are too kind, Shizuru-san"

"Ara…"

Shizuru did not answer anymore to finish off their 'thank you' session.

"Here is the address of the house. It is not far from here and it is located at a subdivision. You would not miss it."

She explained as she handed Shizuru a piece of paper where an address was written.

"Alright. I will give it a visit tomorrow, and then I will drop by here tomorrow too or maybe on Thursday to tell you my insights about it."

Shizuru said as she stood up and prepared herself to leave.

"Thank you, really."

The old woman bowed again.

"You are welcome. I will be taking my leave then."

Shizuru said as she took a step side wards, took the chair she just sat on, and return it under the table.

"Let me walk you out."

The woman said as she leaned on the table and started to get up, until Shizuru said that it was fine and she could manage herself.

After leaving the house Shizuru found herself staring at the piece of paper.

"I'm going to be an architect again… Natsuki"

* * *

Natsuki stretched her arms and yawned. She had been working since morning, and it was already afternoon. She felt like she had not stretched like this for years.

She looked outside the window and stared at the red-orange colored sky.

"Shizuru"

* * *

_Wednesday_

Shizuru dismissed her tea ceremony class early today to check on the house she and their family friend talked about yesterday. She quickly changed from her kimono to her casual clothes which consisted of a white body fit blouse, skinny jeans and a pair of white heeled sandals. It was very simple yet, it made her look like a celebrity.

She went to her car, dumped her things at the trunk, went inside, then started her engine and took off.

* * *

Her trip did not last an hour. After forty minutes she got into the subdivision which she noticed, was seemingly for rich people. After a few turns, left and right she immediately found what she was looking for.

After looking at the house from the outside, she immediately thought of the perfect description for the house, simple yet elegant.

'_Just like the buyer herself'_

Shizuru thought.

Not too long, she finally finished her observations and had her result that this house was the perfect choice for the old woman except the stairs with high steps at the garden, which could be immediately reformed. She thanked the house keeper for keeping her company, and then she went towards her car.

She decided to drive slowly to check on the other houses. Until she found herself looking at a large house with three floors, a garage fitting for four to five cars, as she estimated and a very well decorated metal gate. It was very, overly fashionable for a house.

She went out of the car and stared up on the house for a while. After a while, she took her cell phone from her pocket to take some shots at the house to look at a few places which she could not quite distinguish.

"Can I help you?"

A deep, masculine voice startled her from behind, but she quickly covered it up. She slowly turned around to see the man who was talking to her.

Handsome was the perfect word to describe him. He looked like he was at the same age as her but a little older. He was also taller than her, wearing a black long sleeved shirt perfect for his fit torso, jeans, rubber shoes and sunglasses on his black ruffled hair.

She smiled at him for a while then turned around again to continue her work.

"So, what are you doing?"

He asked her again. Shizuru was looking on the shots she took on her phone.

He stepped to her left to get even at the sight she was looking at.

"Nothing. I was just checking the house out."

She said as she gave him a glance then she looked up again at the house in front of them.

"And?"

He asked as he crossed his arms to his chest.

"I think the owner of this house is not interested on having a family."

She answered not letting her eyes off the structure and unconsciously crossing her arms on her chest as well.

The man was a bit surprised but he covered it as well. He was getting amused.

"Why would you say that?"

He asked again.

Shizuru gave him a glance again.

"If the owner does have a family, I would say that his or her house is not very child friendly."

He lifted his brows to show that he was really amused. Before he could say anything, the kyoto-ben spoke again.

"It has too many edges; the materials are too hard too. The house is very manly."

She said with full confidence.

He was speechless with girl in front of him. At first he thought that this girl was just like any other pretty girls who just look at the design and outer display of the house, but he thought otherwise.

The thick accent spoke again, snapping him out of his reverie.

"If I were the architect of this house, I'd suggest that it would be better to lessen the edges and replace them with curves instead. That way, it would be balance."

Shizuru was not sure of why she was talking to this stranger. But before she realized it, she was explaining all of her thoughts about the eye-catching house to someone whom she does not even know.

'_I guess I miss my work somehow…"_

She thought.

Meanwhile, the man stared at her with an amusing smile. Finally, he sighed and looked up on the house again.

"Maybe that's why my girlfriend left me…"

He trailed off.

Shizuru was caught off guard of what she had just heard. She turned her head towards her side and looked on the man.

"That's exactly what she said when I designed this house…"

He continued, and then looked at Shizuru as well.

"She said that it seemed like I don't want to have a family."

He concluded.

Shizuru was surprised but didn't show it. Instead she just went on to the flow of the conversation.

"This is yours?"

She asked.

The man gazed once more at his house then nodded.

Shizuru was silently laughing inside her head. She does not know why but she found it really funny.

She looked up on the house again when she heard the man speak again.

"Kanzaki Reito, the man who does not want a family."

He said with a smile on his lips.

Shizuru looked at the man once again. She noticed how lonely his eyes were, but decided that it was time to go.

With a final smile, she bid her goodbye.

"I have to go."

She said as she reached for her car's door and opened it.

"Nice house by the way."

She said with finality. She sat on her leather chair and was about to close the door when Reito spoke again.

"So, you're an architect too?"

Shizuru thought for a while then answered.

"I was."

With that, she shut her door closed.

She was reaching for her keys to rive up the engine when she heard some knocking on her window. She saw Reito leaning at the window with a smile so, she brought the window down halfway.

"I'd actually like to hear your ideas and inputs."

He said, his smile never leaving his lips.

"Here's my card."

He reached inside the car to bring the business card in to Shizuru's reach without difficulty for the girl.

"We have an opening at my group. We will have an orientation at Friday, 3pm. The office address is in there."

He said pointing at the card.

With one last exchange of smiles, Shizuru went off.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ -Not beta-ed.

-This chapter is half mine and half not mine.

* * *

_Thursday_

It was already afternoon when she finished discussing her insights and observations to the kind old woman. After some tea and some talk, she decided that everything was set for her new friend and it was time for her to go.

The old woman was very grateful of her. She thanked her non-stop and even asked her to stay for dinner, which she politely refused. Before stepping out of the house, she shook her hand, said her farewell, and wished they would meet each other again.

The moment she saw the sky, she thought on how fulfilled she felt when she accomplished the task given to her, on her own. A gust of wind blew past her face so she closed her eyes and enjoyed the fulfillment she was having at the moment.

'_That felt good.'_

She thought.

It was one of the few times she did an architectural work on her own. She wondered when the last time was she had done that, but it seemed she cannot remember.

'_Natsuki was always there whenever I have work.'_

A smile unconsciously made its way on her lips.

Her eyes opened wide for a moment as she realized what her facial features, surprisingly did after given the thought.

'_Wow, I smiled about that.'_

She mused. Shizuru, most of the time, would only give a sigh about Natsuki's 'helpfulness' but it was not because it isn't welcome. After being accepted to their company, Natsuki was the first to be comfortable with the atmosphere and the environment, since she believes that she does not need to make acquaintances- her lover was all that was necessary for her. On the other hand, Shizuru got her grip too, but not as fast as her girlfriend. She tried to avoid Natsuki's point of view. She wanted to meet new friends too. But Natsuki, being the thoughtful one, noticed the discomfort of her girlfriend, and started interfering or rather, helping. At first, Shizuru was very thankful for that. She even became extra sweeter to Natsuki because of this. It also helped her to be more comfortable with work. But as the months and years passed, Natsuki's attitude became a habit, which was almost unstoppable. One time, Shizuru asked Natsuki to leave her on her own as sweet as she could, but its result was a little deplorable, so she left that to that. And now, due to its absence for almost two long months made her sad and miss the gesture a little, and especially the doer.

'_Oh dear… Natsuki…'_

She dismissed her little melancholy after realizing that she had been standing all the while there, smiling, and frowning when she was all alone. People might think she was crazy. A little worried that someone might have seen her, she glanced left and right to look if there were some people around. Satisfied that she was alone, she smiled again for her actions which she found oddly weird for her.

She opened her door and went in, then grabbed her pouch from the next seat to get her keys. When she zipped her pouch open, she noticed the card the man she met yesterday.

She stared at the card for a moment and then came up to a decision.

* * *

_Friday, 4:03 am_

Natsuki woke earlier than intended that day. By 4 in the morning, her eyelids were already as light as feather. She tried to close them but they just kept on shaking as if telling their owner to get up and start the day. But she didn't give up without a fight; she continued on closing them until finally- she raised a white flag symbolizing surrender.

Natsuki was staring at her ceiling from her bed when she breathed a long sigh, showing how frustrated she was at the moment. She wanted to spend this day as her 'normal' day but with it starting like this meant the opposite. Everytime she got to think about seeing Shizuru again, she just couldn't stop her heart from thumping and thumping. Seriously in her mind, this gathering was just a reunion, nothing special… Well, that was the idea she wanted her brain to think, but her heart just kept on disobeying her.

She unconsciously gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She rolled sidewards, hoping to ease her raging, mixed emotions.

She stayed like that until dawn.

Feeling stupid with her actions, she shook her head and went to begin her day.

* * *

_6:24 am_

"Wah sue ayh weah?" (What should I wear?)

Natsuki questioned herself as she rummage through her closet with a toast in her mouth.

During her shower, she could not stop her mind from wondering on what she should look on the party. Since she would not want to be late- again, she settled a well-scheduled time table for herself, which she did as she prepared her breakfast.

Even before her usual dismissal time, she would prepare herself to leave- since traffic was depressingly undeterminable. That way she would not be late and maybe arrive there earlier than 7pm. And it also gives her the advantage of having more spare time in case she forgets something important.

As time passed by, her eyebrows furrowed little by little because of 'what-to-wear' sickness she was having right now. When she was about to scream, she became aware of what side effect this might do to her.

'_I'm going to ruin my mood for today.'_

As she realized this, she inhaled deeply and exhaled softly to calm her temper. This was a method thought to her by Shizuru- since she was temperamental.

'_Oh man… Shizuru…'_

* * *

_5:11 pm_

"We will let you sign for a contract. Your ideas are good and unique and your previous designs… they were… remarkable."

A lady in late 30's said excitedly as she looked through pictures and papers on her table.

Shizuru was startled by this. She wasn't expecting an offer right away or rather she wasn't really expecting anything at all!

"But..."

She started but she was cut off. She wanted to tell that she was not really looking for a job and she was just here for the orientation since she had nothing to do and because the party she was going to attend tonight was making her uncomfortable- but of course she won't verbalize the last reason- it was personal.

"We have numerous of contacts on our hand to today, Fujino-san. If you want, we will let you choose among them but for now, we will only allow you with small ones. We are really short-handed today, you know. An architect like you is a blessing to us."

The lady said as she beamed a big smile to Shizuru.

Everything was going fast for Shizuru. One minute she was at the orientation, listening. Next, the man Kanzaki called her attention and asked her to give her insights about the topic. Then she was infront, calmly discussing her experiences and knowledge to the group of people. And now, here she was at the office of a woman who seemingly was the head of the group, recruiting her to be a part of them.

'_Huh?'_

Shizuru thought as she summed it up in her beautiful head.

She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled and exhaled. Done, she was finally calm and she finally caught up to what was currently happening.

All the while, Reito was observing her. Everything was going fast with him too. He did not expect her boss to be this straight forward on this with the girl, though he did not mind this because he, as well, thought that Shizuru was brilliant.

He watched at first that Shizuru's expression was shocked. Her eyes were wide but she quickly closed them and listened for a while to his boss then, breathed in and out then there. She was calm again.

This action made him more amused.

Shizuru opened her red eyes and gave out a smile.

"I'm sorr…"

"Here are our contracts on the waiting list."

She was cut off- again as the lady handed Shizuru a bundle of papers which Shizuru accepted willingly.

"We have a small house here, a playground, a tea house, a store…"

'_Tea house?'_

Shizuru's ears went deaf on the lady's words as she started imagining designs for a tea house. This seemed to catch Reito's attention. It was time for him to force himself at the conversation.

"Did you find something you might like to work on?"

The masculine and polite voice of Reito broke Shizuru out of her dreamland. She smiled and regained her composure once she noticed that the two was waiting for her answer.

"Ara, I'm sorry about that."

She said.

"The tea house was interesting and I honestly, would like to work on it but don't you think you are rushing about this? You both barely know me."

Shizuru smiled sheepishly as she said this.

"You came at a very well-known university and you don't look like someone who would do something bad. Plus, Reito wouldn't bring and recommend someone who is not trust worthy. I might as well make a gamble, like I said earlier. We really need help."

The lady said as if she was pouring her heart at every word.

Shizuru was speechless. Everything that she had heard was utterly unbelievable. She had an aftershock of the straight forward words so she remained silent for the moment. This was sensed by the two and gave Shizuru her well deserved privacy by staying quiet too.

Shizuru thought about this very carefully. Though they regard the tea house as a small project, Shizuru still had to spend quality time and effort for this. It was still a house after all. A place where people would stay in during any weather- meaning it has to be built with proper strength and endurance.

'_If you think about it, this would be my first building without Natsuki's help…'_

It was true. She did a few works on her own before but never did she have the chance to build her own structure without the blue haired engineer. This was a first and it made her somewhat nervous and excited.

She continued her long silence to fully make her decision without regret but with confidence. All the while, Reito and his boss kept quiet and patiently waited for the tan haired girl.

"Please"

Shizuru spoke finally.

The two recruiters focused on her.

"I would like to do it."

She politely asked with a bow.

Reito and the lady finally released the air they have been holding and gave out their best smiles.

* * *

_5:29 pm_

"Ahh…Damn"

Natsuki grumbled as she laid her back on the front seat of her car. She had been wandering through a construction site assigned to her mentor. She was helping him observe and give instructions to the construction workers. The building was too big for her to handle, although it was offered to her- meaning she was already trusted to manage big projects like this, she still refused because projects like this means more time and work, if she accepted it then she would not have time to help Shizuru with work. Yes, the offer came when she was still with Shizuru- but thinking back the past incidents, Natsuki never regretted her decision of turning the project down.

She closed her eyes and brought up her hand to rub the bridge of her nose to lessen her stress over work. The day was still on going but she felt like it had already been two days- and she blames her eyelids for that.

'_Stupid eyelids… Why don't they just listen to me?'_

She was currently thinking that if her eyelids didn't open early that day then she wouldn't feel like she had been awake for more than a day, but since it did- she felt more tired than normal.

"Kuga-san?"

Natsuki looked up to her caller and saw her co-worker, which she noted was older than her because even before she and Shizuru applied to the company, he was already working there.

"Yeah?"

She asked, getting out of her vehicle.

"Are you alright? Everyone has already left."

The nerd looking guy with a hard hat said.

"Yeah… Just taking a break. Thanks."

After her co-worker left, Natsuki was left alone again. She entered her car again and glanced on the digital clock in front of her, which indicates the time 5:30 pm.

'_Again?'_

Her heart began to thump again as she noticed that the time was getting closer. She was a little depressed with what her heart was doing every time she remembers the gathering to be held tonight. As mentioned earlier, Natsuki wanted this day to one of her usual days.

She shook her head to stop her wandering thoughts on going any further.

Natsuki removed her hard hat and fixed herself. She was about to leave when…

'_Wait a second…'_

She stopped her hand from reviving the engine as she thought about something.

"Damn it. I think I miss one thing."

She mumbled to herself. Her eyebrows were starting to meet at the middle and her mouth was slowly getting wider and wider.

She stared up and looked horrified as she realized that 'one thing' she forgot.

"Gift."

* * *

6:27 pm

"Natsuki!"

Mai called.

"…"

"What? I can't hear you, you know!"

Mai was roaming around her café, trying to get a proper signal for the phone call.

The place was already decorated with party decorations. It has two tables, one short, and one long. The short table was the place for foods where they are going to serve it buffet style. While the long table was the dining area, it has fifteen chairs and the plates are also prepared on it.

"…"

"Oh goodness… You're really stupid huh"

Mai said sarcastically.

"…"

"Whatever, just don't be too late."

The busty girl sighed as she brought the cordless telephone down.

"Got trouble?"

Tate asked while he prepared the drinks.

"Kuga again?"

That was Nao who just arrived with a cake in tow.

"Yeah, she forgot to get Midori a gift. She's rushing to the mall right now."

Nao laughed loud when she heard this. She approached the small table and carefully removed the cake from its box.

"Hello!!"

The three occupants of the café looked towards the door and saw Yukino, Haruka, Mikoto, and Midori who just arrived. They, except Midori, had gifts in their hands.

"Hey guys! Aren't you all early!"

Mai exclaimed as she approached the newcomers to give them all a hug. Nao followed shortly after preparing the cake.

"Let's party!"

Haruka beamed.

* * *

6:34 pm

A blue haired girl could be seen running through the mall with a paper bag in hand.

'_Good. I think I still have time.'_

Natsuki thought as she approached the parking lot.

She quickly ran to her F-150 and climbed in it. She quickly turned it into life and sped out.

* * *

6:36 pm

'_6:36 pm'_

Shizuru read the time on the clock across the street.

She was currently outside the building she recently went to- waiting for a taxi. Her car was not on its best condition again, so she decided to commute instead of giving herself problems.

'_It's alright. A taxi's on its way.'_

She convinced herself since she was standing there for almost 8 minutes now. It was a good thing she was on a good mood. Well, who wouldn't? She just bagged a good job where she gets to do what she likes- technically speaking, she's going to do a tea house, where you could find tea, and she loves tea. Doesn't that make her a tea house lover too?

She suddenly felt giddy on the thought- not realizing a taxi passing by. She tried to call it but it was too late. It already passed her.

"Hop on"

A familiar voice caught her attention from her right side.


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Mai Hime/Otome

_Note:_ Not beta-ed.

-This chapter is half mine and half not mine.

-bianca216 . deviantart . com

* * *

"Hop on"

A familiar voice caught her attention from her right side.

"Kanzaki-san"

She whispered but it was heard by the handsome guy anyway. Reito was from the parking lot below the building. He just came out beside the sidewalk where Shizuru was currently standing.

"Reito's just fine."

He laughed- leaning his elbow on the window.

"Need a ride? C'mon, get in."

He asked then stepped out of his blue BMW and opened the other front seat.

"No, it's fine. I'll get a taxi somehow. Thank you."

Shizuru refused politely.

"Oh, c'mon, we're officemates from now on. No need to be to shy."

He exclaimed as he gestured his hand to Shizuru- like a prince asking his princess in his humble horse-drawn carriage.

"No really, Kanzaki-san, it's alright."

Shizuru smiled and waved her hand to emphasize her refusal.

"I already told you, it's Reito. And aren't you running late on something? I saw you staring at the clock."

The black haired boy said with a questioning and a little sarcastic look- pointing to the clock across the street.

Shizuru was surprised with what the guy said but she didn't show it. She did not expect him to be so observant or to be a stalker.

"Ara, isn't it rude to watch someone?"

She cleverly asked with a smile and mischievous eyes.

The other just laughed on this.

"Okay, you got me there. I'm sorry; let me give you a ride anywhere, to prove my apology."

Reito answered, still with a smile.

Shizuru was surprised again with Reito's manipulative ways and sweet talks. Somehow she reminded him of herself a little. She had that attitude too, back in high school.

"It's okay. I accept your apology, but I have to pass on your offer. I still have to attend a reunion. So, thank you anyway."

She said with finality.

"Then I'll take you there."

Shizuru was starting to get annoyed with Reito, though she still found him fun to talk to. Giving up with Reito's continuous proposal and absence of transports, Shizuru sighed and went into the car.

* * *

_6:43 pm_

_Beep Beep Beep Beep_

Natsuki kept banging her horn to show the other drivers how frantic she was right now.

She was almost halfway to Mai's café. It would only take 5 minutes for her to get there if it weren't this traffic.

"Move it!!"

She shouted even though she knew that no one would hear her.

She waited as patiently as she could but traffic was too jammed. The car infront of her moves from time to time, but it was not enough to bring her to her destination. Where will 5 inches of road bring you anyway?

"Damn it…"

Natsuki sighed, and then dumped her back at her seat.

* * *

7:04 pm

"Mai! Mai!"

Chie called out.

Immediately Mai, Tate, and Mikoto went out of the café to check who was calling the lovable cook.

"Chie!"

Mai gleefully said as she laid eyes upon the girl, who was trying to carry something out of her car.

"Hey guys! Mind if you help me? I brought my sound system and it's really, really heavy."

Chie said honestly, her eyebrows inclined- showing tiredness.

The three laughed at her.

"Wait there, I'll just fix the wires. They kinda knotted themselves up."

The black haired girl said while trying to untie the jammed wires.

The three quietly waited there until a car parked just behind Chie's.

They tried to distinguish who owned the vehicle but it was too dark. Shortly after they noticed the car, Chie started carrying out her speakers to them. For a moment there, they all averted their attention from the car.

"Hello everyone."

All four of them swung their heads at the same time because of the trademark accent they know very well.

"Shizuru!"

Mikoto exclaimed as she went to bump her body to the Kyoto girl since she can't use her hands to embrace because of the speaker she was carrying.

"Hey there"

Shizuru said, trying to regain her balance.

"Long time no-see!"

Mikoto exclaimed with glinting eyes looking up to the newly arrived guest.

Mai, Chie, and Tate all approached her- the three of them carrying something.

"Shizuru!"

Shizuru smiled at all of them. It had been a while from the last time they have seen each other. Shizuru really did miss them, so she gave them her warmest smile and wrapped her arms at Mikoto.

"Let me help you with that"

An unknown voice ringed Mikoto out of her cuddling with Shizuru when she heard the voice referring to her.

"Huh?"

All the four of them were surprised with the sudden approach of a young man- which was painfully handsome- for Mai and Chie only of course. Mikoto just stared at him while Tate just kept silent and looked at him from head to toe.

Reito gently took the speaker from Mikoto's grip and stepped beside Shizuru.

"Good evening"

Reito smiled sweetly and then bowed when he noticed that he was being stared at.

Mai and Chie eyed him dumbstruck by his looks and attitude. Before a strange idea crawled into their wandering minds, Shizuru took the silence out and straightened the future trouble.

"He's my new officemate, Kanzaki Reito."

She introduced him. She wanted to tell him her friends' names but she was confused on what she should refer to Reito. Kanzaki or Reito? It was clear that Reito wanted to be called by his first name and not Kanzaki but this could cause trouble since being referred by first name means two persons are close- which they are not- for her.

Sticking to what her mind was telling her, she introduced Mai and company to the lad.

"Kanzaki-san, this is Mai, Chie, Mikoto, and Tate. His first name is Yuuchi; I just got used on calling him Tate since Natsuki…"

Shizuru started to stutter on her words.

Mai, Chie, and Tate looked at her.

"…My friend, normally calls him with his last name. I kind of got the habit."

She explained and smiled. She was thankful she got through that without being too obvious to Reito on what she should refer to Natsuki.

"Oh"

Mai and Chie said at the same time. They were starting to figure themselves who this young man was. It was a good move of Shizuru to go ahead their brains before something unpleasant happens.

"Nice to meet you"

They all said.

"Nice to meet you"

Reito replied with a graceful bow.

"Would you like to have a drink?"

Mai asked. A little unsure of what she said. But Chie immediately butted in and gave support, which made Mai very thankful that she did not made a mistake with the invitation.

'_It's just a drink.'_

The red head thought.

"Yeah, have a drink. Don't worry we're not gonna give you alcohol cause you're driving."

Chie added- grinning.

Shizuru was a little surprised with what her friends were acting. But she quickly blew those thoughts away since thinking like that was indicating something else.

'_What am I thinking?! Reito's just an officemate.'_

She followed shortly after realizing that the others were already on their way in.

* * *

7:11 pm

"Guys! Shizuru is here!"

Mikoto shouted when they entered the party place. All heads turned towards the door when they heard this. Yukino and Haruka immediately ran to welcome their friend whom they have not seen for a long time. Everyone was excited.

"Shizuru! About time you show yourself!"

Instead of a warm hug and a heart-melting greeting, Haruka welcomed Shizuru with her usual glare, which Shizuru got used to, and a loud mouth- Yukino just merely laughed and sweat-dropped on the behavior of her best friend.

"Ara, Haruka. I missed you too."

Shizuru answered jokingly. Haruka's horrified, mixed with embarrassment and anger, expression was just plain funny every time she did this to her. It was really worth it. She always had a good laugh on this.

"Shizuru"

The soft voice of Yukino took her out of her fantasy land. She welcomed Yukino's warm smile to her and returned it with her own.

Before Shizuru had a chance to give Yukino and Haruka a hug, she heard the roaring voice of the blonde.

"Who are you?"

Haruka was glaring at the forgotten man beside Shizuru. Reito just smiled as sweetly as he could despite the fact that Haruka's continuous glare at him was making him uncomfortable.

"Ah, I'm so sorry."

Shizuru turned to Reito to apologize sincerely of her inconsideration.

Reito just smiled at her- saying everything was alright.

Shizuru turned again to face her two confused friends.

"This is Kanzaki Reito, my new officemate. Kanzaki-san, this is Yukino, this is Haruka."

She said.

"Nice to meet you, Kanzaki-san"

Yukino bowed politely.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. C'mon let's eat!"

Haruka answered then raised both of her hands and stomped towards the target food. Her actions are obviously the opposite of Yukino's polite attitude.

* * *

7:15 pm

Everyone was busy getting and preparing their meals. All was like busy bees- chatting here, laughing there, eating here, and drinking there. Mai told everyone that the food was served and everyone could now get from the buffet. Soon enough, all were grabbing their own.

Everyone was having fun.

Shizuru, Reito, and Yukino were all chatting and drinking for a while. This was a good thing because it got Shizuru out of her uneasiness for some minutes.

After Reito finished his drink, he told them that it was time for him to go.

"Sorry, but I have to go."

He said- standing up from his chair.

"Oh, so soon?"

Yukino asked- looking up to him. She noted that he was very tall.

"Yes. I would love to stay longer but I have work to do."

Reito said apologetically.

Shortly, Shizuru excused herself too, and rose up as well. She was going to walk him out and thank him but before she led him out.

"I want to thank Mai-san and Chie-san for inviting me."

Reito said looking down at Shizuru's eyes.

"Sure, there they are."

The tan haired girl answered- pointing to where the two ladies were sitting.

"Could you come with me?"

The black haired boy asked- rubbing the back of his head like a shy kid.

Shizuru's eyes widen for a moment then burst into giggles. She thought how childish Reito acted and it doesn't suit him.

'_You should see how Natsuki does that…'_

She thought- realizing that Natsuki finally slipped her mind on that day. Now, she was wondering if the other would come.

'_Hopefully'_

She thought then answered Reito's plea.

"Alright."

She said and, off they both went.

"Excuse me, Mai-san, Chie-san."

Mai was startled by the greeting because she was looking somewhere while Chie smiled at the man wishing for their attention.

"Y-yes?"

Mai stuttered. She found her actions embarrassing, so a wide blush colored her face. She was a little unsure why that happened and because of pure instinct and some nagging inside her head, she turned her head to look at his husband who was eying her questioningly.

Mai just smiled at waved at him sheepishly then Reito's voice immediately rang her out.

"I would like…"

Before Reito could finish his appreciative words, a loud shout was heard from the other side of the room- averting and distracting the gang and the visitor from their respective businesses.

It was Midori's voice.

"Natsuki's car is here!!"

All of them stiffened when they heard the revelation. They all knew that this was crucial moment, and adding Reito in the mix, made it more than crucial.

Silence enveloped the party place. Only the continuous beating of the speakers and the music could be heard as they await and pray for a pleasant meeting between the two.

All the while, Reito was confused on what was currently happening. Several questions and thoughts ran through his mind- especially the one, "Who's Natsuki?" He glanced around and observed that most, or rather, all of the nine people inside were nervously waiting for this 'Natsuki's' arrival, but the one whom caught his attention the most was the beautiful lady standing just right beside him.

He noticed that Shizuru's charming red eyes were showing mixed emotions. He could not quite pinpoint the exact one but he was sure it was either fear, sadness, anxiety, insecurity, and excitement? Love?

He does not know. He got quite confuse on the last assumption but it was still a possibility. From the hours they spent together and the talk they had on the other day, Reito learned that the lady he was staring at right now was unreadable. Again, he does not know why, but somehow he had a feeling that the person called Natsuki had something big to do about it.

* * *

Shizuru was getting really nervous at the moment. Her eyes were glued at the door, where Natsuki should be coming in. She gulped a couple of times, she blinked her eyes more than usual, she gripped the side of her dress and she could feel her sweat drawing paths on her face and neck despite the cool weather they were all having.

She was getting excited but nervous at the same time.

* * *

7:16 pm

Natsuki finally made out of the damn traffic. She was thankful she took the other route towards Mai's.

Once she got the view of the place, she noticed the pile of cars parked outside the café. She slowed down to see if she could insert her ride somewhere in between. Doing that would make it easier for her to get into the party.

"Nao, Midori, Yukino…"

She was identifying the owners of the parked cars one by one.

"Chie… Huh?"

She stepped on the breaks when she saw an unidentified car next to Chie's.

Most of the time that spot would be Shizuru's then next to it was hers. Tonight was most likely different with what she got used to.

'_A blue BMW huh…'_

It was impossible for Shizuru to own that since Shizuru likes either the color violet or black.

A smile presented itself at Natsuki's lips when she thought that Shizuru bought that car because blue was Natsuki's favorite color.

But she quickly reminded herself of their current status so she straightened her face, drove her vehicle towards the back of the suspicious car, and parked her own there.

She stopped her actions for a moment and calmed her self down. She was afraid not to see Shizuru inside. The whole day took a lot out from her because of the anticipation for the party, or rather for Shizuru. She does not want to frown during the celebration so she took the idea of Shizuru's absence into consideration.

"Here goes…"

* * *

7:18 pm

Natsuki ran towards the door when a flash of red caught her into a tight embrace.

"NATSUKI!!"

She stumbled backwards- almost getting out of the door she just stepped in.

"Mi-Midori?"

"Hell yeah! You made it!!"

Midori screamed and raised an arm into the air.

She blushed as she noticed that Midori was clinging to her, the red-head's legs were wrapped around her waist. It was starting to irritate her.

"Ye-yeah, I did say I'd come. Now get off!"

Natsuki tried to remove Midori's legs. Thankfully Midori did it before Natsuki completely threw Midori down.

"Here, happy birthday granny."

Natsuki said with a smirk while handing her gift to the birthday girl.

"Who you callin' granny, brat?"

Midori glared as she took the gift from Natsuki.

"Thanks, anyway"

The red head finished and gave Natsuki a sincere, toothy smile.

Natsuki, for a while, lost her nervousness and worry about meeting Shizuru. She was so excited when she saw Midori, so she went on autopilot; she laughed and spilled some jokes- that was what she usually do back when things were perfect… for her.

"Natsuki!!"

She whirled her head and looked for the criminal calling her name.

"Chie!! Long time no-see! How are you?!"

Chie quickly embraced Natsuki and patted her back. Chie honestly missed her friend terribly. She too, forgot about the conflict between her two friends.

"Natsuki!"

Mai ran towards them and joined the hug. She could not help it. She missed her friend badly too. Sure, she had seen Natsuki before- but not as happy as this.

"Hey guys… I miss you all…"

Natsuki closed her green eyes and relaxed at the group hug she was experiencing right now. Now, she realizes what the significance of her friends are to her.

"Natsuki"

The dark haired girl opened her green eyes and saw two more of her faithful friends. Yukino was waving at her with a warm smile while Haruka was giving her a big grin. She noticed another couple standing at the corner near the table but she decided to greet Yukino and Haruka first.

"Yukino"

She said- giving the girl with brown hair, a quick and loving hug.

"Haruka"

She decided to just shake Haruka's hand instead of hugging her. She had a mental note about Haruka's bone crushing embrace.

"Nice to see you again!"

Haruka said to her with a big slap at her back, which made her choke.

"Yeah. Nice to see both of you too."

The girl glared at the harsh blonde as she said this- not that she meant it half heartedly.

Natsuki finally turned around to greet the two persons she saw at the corner of her eyes a moment ago. She was not sure who they were but she had a feeling on her chest that she knows who that 'person' was.

It was her moment of truth.

* * *

Shizuru was watching Natsuki's every move, the minute she entered the place. She smiled at the moments she thought was touching and heart warming. She also laughed at the small jokes they say and share. She too, as well as the others, forgot about the conflict.

When Natsuki went to greet and embrace Yukino and Haruka, Shizuru was very touched. The two was more of Shizuru's friends. They only got close because of the tan haired girl but now, she thought- it was like they really knew each other since the very beginning.

When Shizuru noticed that Natsuki was starting to turn to them, she suddenly felt chills down her spine. She felt her cheeks burning and her palms are getting sweaty. Her throat suddenly got dry and she could not feel her legs.

It was hell of overwhelming emotions.

* * *

After the turn that Natsuki made, her eyes got locked up at Shizuru's immediately. It was like that the step she made was a perfect fit to each others windows to the soul.

They stared at each other. No one dared to move. They just kept trying to read the emotions playing in their eyes, trying to figure out their significance for each other; trying to find an answer to the question that haunted them for days, for weeks, for months; trying to find the place where they used to belong to and trying to see if they could still claim it as theirs. They are trying to find out if their reflections on the other's eyes are still as brilliant as they used to know.

The room was dead quiet. It was as if everyone was experiencing the emotions the two were going through at the moment. Some of them could not bear to watch the two former lovers, so they decided to glance away- while some continued to watch; trying to find the answers on the same question the two had.

During that crucial moment, Reito was out of place. He was confused on what was currently going on so he did something that he thought was the rightful move.

"You must be Natsuki-san"

Reito interrupted and everyone was snapped out of reverie. He gave a sweet smile and also extended a hand towards the blue haired newcomer.

Natsuki glared at him after noticing that he was standing too close to her Shizuru. The first thing she thought was punching him straight at the face to demolish that annoying smile of his. It was a good thing she still had some self control so she let that idea slip, instead she raised her chin up and looked down at him, as if showing superiority.

Shizuru, all the while, was just looking at Natsuki with almost moist eyes. Every feature of the girl, every action, every move, she was trying to absorb. She was trying to consume Natsuki. She was embedding the other girl into her brain. She missed her! She admits it to herself. The phrase was repeating over and over again. Any minute now, if she was not Shizuru Fujino, it would have blurted out of her mouth.

She totally forgot about Reito and her environment. And now, even though her beloved was confronting her visitor, she still could not manage to call her self out of thought.

Mai noticed the tension building up between Natsuki and Reito, or rather, the tension building with in Natsuki. She looked towards Shizuru to look for help but she thought it was useless.

The girl was lost in thoughts.

"Umm…"

Mai started. She stepped forward to catch their attention.

"Natsuki, this is Kanzaki-san. He's Shizuru's new officemate."

Mai said nervously. Right the time she made that step, she felt chills up on her nape. Never did she think that Natsuki could make that kind of aura. It was a mystery how Reito could still manage to give that killer smile of his, when the person he was giving it was intending on killing him.

The blue haired girl just continued on glaring at the handsome man in front of her. She did not even bother to look down at the extended hand offered to her. She was clearly stating that this 'Kanzaki-san' does not belong here and he will never be.

'_Bastard'_

Natsuki thought of Reito.

Mai was really getting uncomfortable of the atmosphere. She wanted to break the silence but she does not have the guts to do so. She looked back at some of her friends with pleading eyes. Tate, getting the hint, immediately thought of something to change the course of the pending fight.

"Guys! Let's eat the chicken! Better eat it before it runs! Haha!"

He shouted. Everyone on the café looked at him with disbelief. Even Nao and Midori dropped their jaws on the floor.

It was a totally lame excuse.

Chie, after the shock that Tate caused, used the disturbance and finished the job.

"Great! Now that everyone's here, let's start the celebration!"

Everyone started talking again and went to their choice of seats. After the silence a moment ago, everything was back to normal, as if nothing occurred at all.

Shizuru, finally, was back to her self but before she got to say something, Nao started pushing her down to a seat. Shizuru looked at her with questioning eyes but after Nao gave her a mouthed word saying…

'_Just go with the flow…'_

She immediately understood and just went with what was going on.

Even Reito was pushed by someone to sit at the chair beside Shizuru. When Natsuki saw this she quickly walked towards the other unoccupied chair beside Shizuru. She pulled the chair out and positioned herself to seat but Mai suddenly butted in and sat on the chair where she was supposed to sit.

She was going to shout at Mai but the busty red head spoke before she had the chance to do so.

"Thanks for the chair Natsuki! Why don't you seat over there?"

Mai said- pointing to the chair across to where she was currently sitting.

"But!"

Natsuki was about to complain, when Chie started pushing her to the chair Mai was pointing at- a chair away from Shizuru.

Thankfully for Chie and Mai, Natsuki followed their lead and sat across them. But clearly shown on the blue haired girl's face was annoyance.

Shizuru witnessed everything and all she could do was smile.

'_Natsuki… You're so protective…'_

She thought while staring at the pouting girl in front of her.

"So, seems like everything is in place. Go on! Eat yourselves out and happy birthday to me! Woo!"

Midori shouted and everyone started munching the food.

* * *

Reito was confused. First, he was about to leave when this 'Natsuki' came and now, here he was, sitting and was being served with food by a birthday girl whom he does not even know.

"Umm…"

He caught Midori's attention who was putting grilled chicken at his plate.

"Yes?"

Midori asked.

"I'm just about to lea…"

Reito did not manage to finish what he was saying because Natsuki suddenly spoke. Everyone stopped on their tracks and listened to what the irritated girl was going to say.

"You…"

Natsuki began. She had her eyes closed and her brows were furrowed. Shizuru was focused on her.

"Just accept Midori's hospitality. Don't talk anymore."

She said then opened her green eyes and glared at Reito.

The black haired boy was speechless. He stared at Natsuki for awhile and then averted his eyes away immediately. He was really getting uncomfortable, so he looked for help by glancing to his left side to where Shizuru was currently sitting.

Shizuru noticed this and looked at Reito with eyes saying an apology. What Natsuki said was not really pleasing and it ignited a slight fire of anger inside Shizuru. Why was Natsuki trying to scare Reito? She does not even know him. She has no right to embarrass the guy infront of their friends. The man was there with good intentions and plus, he did not went in there because he wanted to- he was there due to their invitation. Natsuki was being rude. Aside from that, Natsuki did not even bother to greet her. All those feelings were getting into her again.

"Natsuki"

Shizuru called calmly.

The blue haired girl quickly locked her eyes with Shizuru after hearing her name.

"Yes, Shizuru?"

She said. Her angry, gruff voice suddenly turned into a soft, feminine one- the one only for Shizuru's ears.

"Please go easy with Kanzaki-san."

She asked, giving the other girl a small smile.

After hearing what her ex-lover told her, she turned her gaze once again to Reito and glared at him.

"Alright"

She answered.

Finally, after the ice breaker between the two, things were turning out alright. Everyone, including Reito, was eating peacefully, with small chit chats here and there, and aside from Haruka and Midori's loud voices, everything seemed perfect.

"Here guys! More chicken!"

Mai exclaimed while putting a new batch of grilled chicken on the table.

Natsuki quickly took two legs and placed it into her plate.

* * *

Reito was starting to get comfortable with the atmosphere though the girl named Natsuki still freaks him out. He wanted to know why the girl's blood was boiling with him, so he tried to ask the only person he knows around.

He started leaning his face towards the eating girl beside him to ask her about it discreetly.

"Shizuru-san"

He whispered.

"Yes?"

Shizuru answered- not bothering to look at man talking to her and continued on her eating.

All the while, Natsuki was watching them. That 'Kanzaki' guy was getting under her nerves and she could not control it anymore. She thought of something to distract their conversation.

"Here"

Natsuki said as she stood up, and place a skinless chicken leg at Shizuru's plate.

"Oh, thank you Natsuki!"

Mai quickly intercepted the chicken and placed it on her plate.

Natsuki just looked at her questioningly, and before Natsuki could say something, Chie tugged her to seat down.

"Have some wine Natsuki"

Chie said, trying to distract the blue haired girl.

Shizuru was speechless and so was everyone in the café. They all knew, except Reito, that the attitude Natsuki was showing right now was one of the reasons why they broke up. It was definitely not a good move.

* * *

Natsuki understood little by little what her friends were doing. They were all acting a little odd whenever she tries to communicate with Shizuru and Reito. And with the latest play they made a little while ago, she finally realized what they were trying to do.

This made her mad. She was feeling that her friends were betraying her.

She grabbed the wine Chie was offering her and gulped it all.

"Alright! That's enough!"

Chie took the bottle from Natsuki's grip but it was too late. The wine was only half full.

The action shocked Shizuru. She wanted to do something but she couldn't do anything. She knew that Natsuki found out what was going on and she understood that it made Natsuki's feelings down.

Natsuki was getting dizzy because of the sudden flow of alcohol into her system. She suddenly lost all of her self control and all of her emotions came dashing into her light head.

She stood up and extended a hand towards Reito.

"So, what's you're name again? Oh, and by the way, I'm Natsuki, Kuga Natsuki. You got that? K-u-g-a N-a-t-s-u-k-i! So, what's your damn name?"

Reito looked up at Natsuki, confused. He does not know what to do.

Everyone was silent again. Chie, being the closest one to Natsuki, held her other arm and pulled her down.

"Umm, Natsuki? Want some fresh air?"

She said nervously.

"No. I want to meet this Kanzaki-san"

Natsuki said- never removing her glare and her extended hand towards Reito.

"C'mon Kuga. Let's get some fresh air"

Tate finally made a move. He knew that this was not going to be easy if Chie handles it just on her own.

"No."

Came Natsuki's stiff and determined reply. She harshly pulled her hand out of Chie's grip and walked around the table to get closer to Reito. She was now standing at the right side of the man, while Shizuru was watching closely from Reito's left.

Chie quickly sprinted towards the back of the blue haired girl to stop her from doing something bad.

"Nat…"

Chie could not finish her statement. Natsuki started talking again.

"Oh, by the way, before I forget. I'm Natsuki… Shizuru's GIRLFRIEND. Nice to meet you!"

She said sarcastically. She had her hand waiting for a handshake again.

It was dead silent at the party.

Reito thought that he should do something. He finally realized what was going on.

'_Kuga-san is thinking that I' m dating Shizuru-san…'_

He concluded.

After rationalizing every detail, he decided that it was his move to settle things accordingly.

He stood up and went face to face with Kuga-san.

"I'm sorry, Kuga-san but…"

Natsuki did not wait for Reito to finish his statement.

"Do you know the 'two months rule' between lovers?"

All eyes went wide at the sudden burst of Natsuki's question.

Shizuru stared at Natsuki wide eyed too and questioningly while Reito looked at the blue haired girl, confusingly.

Natsuki averted her gaze from Reito to Shizuru, she leaned her arm at the table to get a look at Shizuru who was being covered by Reito.

They looked at each other deeply.

"Shizuru"

Natsuki started.

"Do you know the 'two months rule'? The rule that says that you can't be in a relationship with in two months after the break up- you still had to wait for two months to be engaged into a relationship again! Because with in two months, there's still a big possibility of reviving a broken relationship!"

Natsuki explained almost shouting- her eyes wide and her face showing all of her emotions while saying those words.

Shizuru was just there- sitting and speechless.

"Shizuru"

Natsuki continued- her voice cracking.

"I still have two days! I still have TWO goddamned days to fix ours!"

She said, now shouting. She also smashed her hand on the table, causing a loud sound from it. Her eyes are moist. It was obvious that she was holding her sadness to prevent her tears from flowing out- but a little more push, she would eventually give out.

Reito and Chie were alarmed with Natsuki's actions.

Chie placed a hand at Natsuki's shoulder in the hope of calming her down.

Reito noticed this and saw that it had no effect, so he took the courage to step up.

"Kuga-san, please stop."

He also covered Natsuki's view of Shizuru to make sure that the girl focuses only at him.

Unfortunately, he just made things worse.

Natsuki lift her right fist and launched it towards Reito's face, but Chie managed to grab her elbow before it hit Reito.

Tate and Midori quickly went to Chie's support; Tate arm-locked Natsuki from behind while Chie and Midori tried to stop the wild girl from struggling and attacking Reito.

"Natsuki stop! Just stop!"

Midori shouted- holding Natsuki's right swaying arm.

Despite the three persons stopping her Natsuki continued struggling and trying to free her self. She pushed forward and forward.

"Please stop."

Reito demanded.

But Natsuki did not. He continued glaring at Reito, hoping to kill the man by doing that. Despite the attempt that Natsuki did, Reito seemed calm and in control of his emotions- and this only triggered the blue haired girl more.

"YOU MAY HAVE A BUILT-UP BODY BUT YOU CAN'T BRING ME DOWN!!"

Natsuki shouted from the top of her lungs. She was still glaring at Reito and she had her teeth clenched. She was ready to tear the man into pieces.

If only the three were not restraining Natsuki then Reito might be dead by now.

Shizuru was really shocked with how Natsuki was acting. Her ex-lover had lost all of her self-control and it's ruining not just the celebration, but also their respect for each other.

Feeling responsible for all of what was going on, Shizuru took all of her courage and rose up to face the rampaging girl.

"Natsuki, please stop."

She said as firmly as she could. She pushed Reito gently to her back to take his place infront of the girl.

Shizuru's eyes were teary as well. She could not bear to watch Natsuki like this. It was like pulling her heart out from her live body. She wanted this conflict to stop! She wished to anyone to fix this misunderstanding! Everything, for the both of them, was turning out wrong- and it's affecting the two of them very badly.

Natsuki looked at Shizuru with eyes full of mixed emotions. She withdrew all of her strengths and stood there like a lifeless body. Tate and the others also removed their restrains after seeing that Natsuki had calmed down.

"Shizuru"

Natsuki called. She had her head hung low and from that you would see drops of water falling from her sweat-stained face.

Shizuru was completely blank- though her tears were sliding down her cheeks too.

They both looked miserable.

Everyone in the room was silent. The scene they witnessed a moment ago was perplexing. It shook them all. Never did they think that this would happen. Mai, somehow, felt guilty and sorry for what was happening. She buried her face on her hands and cried. Nao saw this and wrapped her arms at the crying girl. But despite of Mai's agony, nobody averted their attention from the two struggling persons infront of them.

Natsuki lifted her face to look at Shizuru. They were just there- standing face to face and looking at each other.

"Shizuru"

Natsuki said with a sob. Her tears were continuously falling from her eyes and her face was painted with hurt and despair.

Shizuru looked at her with the same expression, only her eyes were indicating something else.

'_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!'_

"I love you…"

Natsuki closed her eyes- resulting her tears to slide down on her tired face.

"And it's really, really painful…"


End file.
